


Internal Affairs

by RoboticPopSauce



Series: Immortal Lovers [2]
Category: Gravity Falls
Genre: Adult Dipper Pines, Alcohol Abuse/Alcoholism, Also fluff, Angst, Blood, Cannibalism?, Death, Demonic!Dipper, Demons, Depressed Dipper Pines, Detective Dipper Pines, F/F, F/M, Ford is kind of a douche, Gore, M/M, Minor Character Death, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Protective Mabel Pines, Sadness, noncon
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-02-14
Updated: 2018-04-04
Packaged: 2018-05-20 03:15:12
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 16
Words: 64,621
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5990038
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RoboticPopSauce/pseuds/RoboticPopSauce
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>This is the sequel to Blood Bath, so definitely read that first then read this summary :p</p><p> </p><p>Dipper must learn to live his old life as a human, and his new life as a demon. Between work and dealing with those who want him dead, Dipper finds himself having headaches and strange dreams about Bill. Though he gets help from Filly and Mabel, Dipper starts to wonder if he can handle it all.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Starting Over

**Author's Note:**

> Welcome back! Gosh have I missed writing this story! I hope this sequel lives up to everyone's expectations :p  
> I'm putting the smut right into this one, and will have warnings at the beginning of the chapters that have it. I'm just letting you know now though, there's a loooot of smut in this one ;D  
> Anyway, thank you so much for coming back, and I hope you enjoy this continuation of the story, and happy Valentine's day! :D  
> I like to think this song fits the first half of this story~  
> https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=1hww3n1cqnM

_Bzzzt_

_Bzzzt_

_Bzzzt_

_Bzzzt_

“Ah-ello?”

“Where are you?”

A pause. “Th-the mansion,” the man slurred.

There was a whimper on the other end and the female sighed. “You’re drunk, aren’t you? It’s eight in the morning!”

“...I’m s-sorry.”

“I know.” She paused. “I know.” Another sigh. “I’ll come get you.”

Dipper let his phone fall onto the couch. He was in the tech room, a bottle of fruity vodka hanging loosely from his hand, and a controller sitting on his lap.

The start menu for Super Smash Bros was playing, looping for probably the hundredth time that day, the song becoming so annoying that he could barely handle it anymore. Angrily shutting it off, Dipper groaned.

He had stayed up all night playing it, and stopped a few hours ago when he noticed the absence of his usual player two.

The alcohol had helped a little, but it was slowly becoming a crutch that was no longer working. After two straight months of sneaking off on Wednesday nights, it just became more of a pass time than anything.

Dipper let his face fall into his hands and took in a deep breath, hoping that his nausea would pass.

It didn’t.

Luckily he had a trash can in that room, put there for that purpose, since this wasn’t the first time he had drank himself sick.

It was the first time however that Mabel had called him out on it.

He had been staying with her ever since Bill had been killed, and once he learned her work schedule well enough, he took the days he knew she would be working to come to the mansion.

More often than not, he found himself in Bill’s bed, staring at the wall, hiccupping from the alcohol.

Whenever Mabel asked about where he went, he would lie and say that he was just going out to deal with something to cover for Bill.

Which, sometimes wasn’t a lie. Filly had taken over most of Bill’s affairs, and generally did everything, but Dipper would sometimes need to show up to the occasional demon gathering, consisting of Filly speaking to the others about how she and Dipper had Bill’s magic, and were not to be fucked with while they sorted things out.

Talk about trying to reattach Bill's soul to his body went around a few times, but none of them knew how to do so. The only demons who knew how to pluck a soul from the void, -that’s what they called it- were Bill and those who didn’t like Bill, who were never present at the meetings.

According to Filly, there weren’t many of them left, but there was still a pocket of demons itching to off Dipper and Filly, gaining Bill’s power and control. Luckily none of them had made any moves yet, since Dipper didn’t want to expose himself to anyone.

He had managed to keep the secret from Ford, since they weren’t all that close anymore anyway, but he knew that with his luck, if they did attack, they would do it in a place where he would have to give away his true nature.

“Dipper.” Mabel’s voice knocked him from his thoughts, and he looked away from her when she sat next to him. She gently rubbed his back while she spoke. “This needs to stop. You don’t think I haven’t noticed this? Your health is declining rapidly, and you look homeless half the time. I know you never read the news, but a reporter joked that if someone took a somewhat blurry picture of you, it would look like they got a photo of an anorexic Bigfoot.”

He couldn’t help but let out a small, breathy laugh at that, but immediately realized that she was right. He didn’t eat much, didn’t sleep much, hadn’t shaven properly for about three weeks, and his workout routine that he had before he met Bill was very much a thing of the past.

Feeling at his jaw, Dipper fingered the now almost beard length hair that was there. He hadn’t even gotten a haircut in a while either, and he often had to pull it all up in a pony tail.

“Mabel,” he whimpered. “I’m so sorry.” Dipper buried his face in his hands, and wanted to cry, but couldn’t. After he had cried over Bill’s death for so long, he felt like those were all the tears he could give, and hadn’t been able to really cry after a while.

She leaned on his shoulder and sighed. “Dipper, I don’t expect you to be in perfect shape, but by now you should be over this self-destructive thing. I know Bill had become your whole world, but… from what you told me, maybe that’s a bad thing?”

Dipper looked over at her and blinked a few times, unable to find a response at the moment.

“I mean, he literally raped and tortured you, not to mention turned you into a demon. Maybe… even though it didn’t feel like it… maybe you did have Stockholm Syndrome? A normal, _good_ relationship, wouldn’t lead you to this Dipper. Bill made you think that you needed him to live, and now that he’s gone, you seem like you don’t even care to try.”

He shrugged with the shoulder that she wasn’t leaning on.

“I think it’s time you realize that Bill being gone is probably a good thing. Once you sober up, we're going to get you cleaned up and make a workout routine that will fit both of us, and start going to the gym after work. On that note, you’re going back to work. It’ll be good for you. And making up with Ford will be a good thing too. Okay?”

Making up with Ford wasn’t going to be much fun. He could do it, their rifts never lasted long, but it would be a bit of a challenge. And cleaning himself up a bit did sound nice.

“Okay,” he whispered. “You’re right.”

With a smile, Mabel started doing exactly as she said she would, starting by getting Dipper a glass of water.

The following month, Dipper got sobered up, promising that he wouldn’t touch alcohol again until he was better, and let Mabel drive his life for a little while, at least until he was ready to go back to work.

He had to admit, shaving, getting a haircut, and starting to get outside more did help. It actually made him feel better. Not by much, but it was a step.

The first day back at work was interesting.

Ford had hired on a new audio and video tech guy, since the one they had before had been murdered, and didn’t technically work for him in the first place.

Dipper had only found out about it though when he literally ran into him, walking through the office door.

Just as Dipper looked down at a file Ford had sent him to start working on, something about a missing person, he was met with hot coffee splashing down the front of his shirt. The burning sensation hurt, and made Dipper jolt backwards a bit.

“O-oh god, I’m _so_ sorry!”

Dipper looked up to see who had bumped into him, making sure to smile to let them know it was okay. Though, his smile probably came off very forced right then.

A guy who was probably only a few inches taller than Dipper, was about the same age, had short, styled blond hair, and icy blue eyes, was looking at Dipper with his mouth open just a little, stumbling over his words.

“It’s alright, really.” Dipper unbuttoned his shirt and balled it up. “I can just go wash up in the bathroom and change after. I keep a change of clothes in my car.” He had gotten into the habit of doing so after he found that he may end up covered in blood at random times, since he seemed to have the worst of luck.

“I-I’ll come help you.”

Dipper nodded, and they both made their way to the office restroom, which was more like a house bathroom than a public one.

Though it was a little cramped, it was still larger than most normal bathrooms, and it wasn’t uncomfortable to have two people in it.

Dipper turned on the sink and waited for it to get warm before taking a few paper towels and getting them a little wet. He kept his head down and tried to avoid making conversation, since he knew he wouldn’t be the best at holding one.

The guy grabbed Dipper’s shirt, sprawling it out over the counter so that he could start trying to get the coffee out of the blue material. “My name’s Justin, by the way.”

“Dipper,” he said softly.

“Oh, _you’re_ Ford’s nephew? I was wondering when I would meet you,” he laughed awkwardly. “You’re, uh, not exactly like I pictured you would be.”

Dipper finished getting his chest wet, then tossed the soggy paper towel in the trash. “How so?” He looked up and met Justin’s eyes while he reached out to grab something to dry himself off with.

“You’re a lot cuter than I expected.”

His face flushed pink and Dipper cleared his throat, looking away from him. “O-oh?”

“Mhm.” Justin stepped a little closer, and Dipper felt something he hadn’t for a while. “You single?” A smirk played on his lips and it made Dipper feel stupid. He almost reminded him of Bill a little.

“I-I’m sure Ford told you about the whole Bill thing?” Dipper breathed.

Mabel had explained to Dipper that Ford told everyone in the office about the demons. He even made each of them get guns that would be sure to tear up the heart, so that they could effectively protect themselves and others.

Justin was practically up against him at that point, and Dipper could feel his heart start to pound in his chest. “Yeah, he did. But, maybe we could… go out sometime?”

Dipper gulped and he grabbed at the counter to keep himself upright. “I-I, uhm, not that you’re not… I just, uh-”

“No, no, I get it.” Justin smiled and moved back away from Dipper. “You are cute though. I stand by my offer to take you out when you feel up to it.”

He thought for a moment about that. Bill was still kind of his fiance. Though his physical body was dead, Dipper knew that his soul was still very much out there.

But, Dipper didn’t want to dwell that heavily on Bill anymore. He was gone. Filly had said multiple times that it was very unlikely that they were going to be able to bring him back, and Dipper just kind of wanted to be able to move on.

If Bill somehow did come back, well, then he could deal with that when it came. For now, he had a hot guy asking him out, and a date where he wasn’t fearing for his life sounded nice.

“For sure. Once I feel a little less... Anyway, I’ll give you my number. First, I need to go get a new shirt,” he chuckled dryly.

Justin smiled and nodded. “Great. I’ll walk you out to your car.”

A strange pain in the back of Dipper’s head made him pause for a moment, and he had to shake it off before continuing down out of the building to his car.

He didn’t talk much but appreciated Justin being there since he generally didn’t like to be left alone with his thoughts.

“So, working here has been fun so far. Ford’s pretty cool, when he comes out of his office, that is.” Justin was all smiles, and was sure to get all of the doors for Dipper on their way down, and on their way back up.

“Yeah, he’s alright,” Dipper mumbled.

When they got back into the office, Justin gave a polite wave and a somewhat flirtatious smile, then went to his desk, where he quickly focused on his screens.

Dipper gave his best smile back, which wasn't much, but he felt a little accomplished. That was the first time he actually felt like smiling in a while.

He looked around the office, an odd, and now distant familiarity slowly seeping back into his mind.

All five of Ford’s other employees were at their desks, doing paper work on their computers from a case Dipper hadn’t been there to help with. One that they had done off to the side while he was with Bill.

Ford stepped out of his office with his mug, about to go refill it in the small area near the front of the room where they had a coffee maker, a microwave, and a fridge. They called it the "Mini Kitchen", and would often joke about how _luxurious_ it was having their desks so close to where they made their lunch.

“I can’t tell if it’s the coffee maker, or just the fact that we’re in an office that makes this coffee so terrible. I’ve switched brands multiple times, and nothing seems to work.” Ford threw his hands up before starting to clean out the coffee maker to make a new pot.

His eyes drifted to Dipper, who was still standing by the door, and he smiled. “You’re here! We’ve missed having you around.”

Dipper looked to Wendy, who had noticed his arrival but didn’t want to interrupt. Not with the two finally speaking face to face.

She nodded at him and gave a warm smile.

He nodded in return, then put his attention back to Ford. Who, Dipper still wasn’t too keen on speaking with.

Mabel insisted that he talk to him about something other than the new case they had picked up, but Dipper just couldn’t bring himself to say much anyways. Maybe it was because he was hiding something so big, or because he was starting to feel like Ford was right about Bill.

“Come help me make coffee Dipper. I might go insane if I have to drink another mug of bean water, and your coffee was always better than mine for some reason.” Ford motioned for him to come over, and Dipper quietly did so.

He actually didn’t know how to make very good coffee, but he would act like he knew what he was doing, for the sake of not making anything awkward.

Ford cleared his throat and leaned against the counter, watching Dipper work the machine. “Did you meet Justin then?”

Dipper nodded.

With a large sigh, Ford rested his hands on the counter, looking down at his feet. “Dipper, I know what happened in the Fall was… traumatic, to say the least, but you seem to be doing better, and I was hoping that you getting better also meant that you might accept my apology.”

Dipper nodded again. “Yeah. We’re good grunkle Ford,” he said softly without looking up at him.

A large grin spread on the elder man’s face and he patted Dipper’s shoulder. “Good. I’m glad to hear it.”

Dipper gave a weak smile in return and finished making the coffee.

On his way back to his desk, Justin gave him another smile.

It struck something in both Dipper’s head and chest. His head felt a random stab of pain, dull but annoying, and his chest felt hollow. Something about Justin’s smile just really reminded him of Bill.

He gave a slight nod to it, and sat in his black, leather chair, noting that he was just behind Justin, to the right, so he could stare without getting caught. He really wanted to find what it was that reminded him of Bill.

A little while later, Filly came in with a special smoothie, one that she made sure to give him at least once a week.

Dipper had done everything he could to prevent himself from changing into his demon form again. He was a little afraid of losing it around loved ones, and quite frankly just wanted to leave it in the past.

The smoothies were nice though, and helped keep any freak outs to a minimum. They lied and told everyone it was the best way for him to take medication for his anxiety. Everyone bought it and didn't question the drink.

No, what they questioned was Filly.

Every time she came around, she got nothing but slightly panicked glares, and rude whispers.

She always held her head high, though, and made sure to go straight to Dipper, ignoring the others.

“Hey kid, how’re you feeling today?” She set the smoothie down in front of him and leaned her hips onto the desk.

Dipper shrugged. “Weird small headaches, but they all pass pretty quickly.”

Filly had been watching him closely since she was concerned about the amount of magic he had taken in.

The knife he used apparently stole magic from the creature it killed, and not only had Dipper taken on a good chunk of Bill's magic, he also received magic from the demons he had stabbed.

From what she had told him, he _should_ be filled to the brim with magic, having too much to even control.

But Dipper hadn't really felt any of it. In fact, he almost felt like he had _less_ magic.

Neither of them knew how or why, but they both were just kind of waiting for it to either slowly come in or hit him all at once and probably kill him.

“Hm. Well, let me know if they get worse. You should probably still be letting yourself use little bits of it, just in case. Kind of like opening a small vent, just so that nothing builds up too much.”

He nodded. There was a vague memory of Bill telling him that holding in powerful enough magic would make him actually, physically explode, and he would like to avoid that.

“I'll be sure to use what I can.”

“Good,” she smiled. “I have to go now, but maybe this weekend we'll talk more.”

After lightly patting his shoulder, she walked out, still keeping her rounded nose held high.

The others had been trying to eavesdrop and look over at them without being too obvious, but Dipper always made sure they spoke quietly enough not to be heard, and would glance up at them every so often to let them know that he knew what they were up to.

With everyone relaxed since Filly was gone, Dipper took a sip of the drink and cringed.

Still liked the taste of flesh. Yuck. That was one thing he wished would have gone away.

Before he knew it, work was over and it was time for him to go to the gym with Mabel.

Without saying any goodbyes, Dipper left and made a point to hurry home so that his sister didn't think he was going to flake out.

“Alright, water bottles, dorky work out clothes… we're only going to be there for like an hour, so I don't think we'll need much else…” Mabel was mumbling to herself while scratching at her new short haircut.

When Dipper had gone in to get his done, she decided to get a pixie cut so that she didn't have to deal with her long hair anymore. She loved it, but between work and Dipper, it was just too annoying to keep throwing up into a bun all the time.

“We'll be okay. It's just the gym,” Dipper chuckled.

“Hm. You're right! Off we go then!” She pointed to the door and grabbed Dipper's wrist, pulling him out to her car.

The gym was large, looked like it was only about a year or so old, and had such new equipment that Dipper wasn't sure if he could even figure out how to use any of it.

“Uhm, I think it's… this button?” Mabel poked at the treadmill’s screen, and it jerked forward, almost tossing her backward.

They both laughed as she gripped the side rails.

“Let me try mine.” He grabbed the handles on his just in case, then pushed a few buttons.

Everything was labeled, but it was still somehow super confusing.

His jerked to life as well, and he had to right himself before he could start walking on it.

Mabel’s had started to go too fast, and she was giggling while rapidly trying to keep up and fix the settings.

“Help!” she squeaked through her giggles.

Dipper hopped off of his and tried to lean in to shut hers off, but couldn't quite reach the button because of how the machines were put next to each other.

“Push the red one! Like twice in a row, I think.” He was laughing too and was having trouble thinking of ways to actually help her.

“I did! Maybe three times?” She jammed her finger on the button quickly, and nearly smashed her face into the panel when it came to an abrupt stop.

Dipper was doubled over laughing, wiping tears from his eyes.

God, he hadn't laughed this hard in _years_. It felt so good.

Mabel stepped off of the machine in a hurry, not wanting to get stuck on it again. “Stop laughing!” Though she was glaring at Dipper, she too was trying her best not to guffaw at what had happened.

When he could finally breathe normally, Dipper looked at Mabel.

He couldn't believe they had drifted apart in the last few years. Who could ignore someone so amazing? How could he have been so horrible to her, after she took him in and accepted him as broken as he was?

Without saying anything, he pulled his twin into a hug.

“I love hugs, but is everything okay?” She hugged back but didn't squeeze nearly as hard as he did.

“I'm sorry Mabel. For everything. Thank you. I probably wouldn't be alive without you.” His voice cracked a little and he mushed his face onto her shoulder. “You're like the best person ever and I treated you so horribly.”

She made a “psht” sound and waved her hand. “Dippin’ Dots, you were sad and junk. And your sadness was completely normal and not your fault. I'm just glad you're feeling better.”

“Me too. Thank you, Mabel. I love you.” He moved away from the hug and cleared his throat. “Don't think I'm always going to be that cheesy, though,” he chuckled.

“I love you too bro-bro. And whatever, you're secretly made of cheese and you know it.” She lightly smacked his arm then huffed when she looked back at the machines. “You know what? Screw the gym today, let's go home and eat ice cream. I think that was enough of a work out for one day.”

“Agreed,” Dipper smiled.

On their way home, the twins sang horribly to every song that played on the radio, Mabel at one point rolling down all of the windows for affect.

By the time they got to the apartment, their short hairdos were spiked upwards, and they looked like they had been through a wind tunnel.

“Selfie time!” Mabel grabbed Dipper and pulled him to her side, making a face at her cell phone while she snapped a picture. “Perfect! Now time for ice cream! Chocolate chips, chocolate chips, chocolate chips!” she chanted as she made her way into the building.

Dipper watched her as she walked, and followed slowly.

Things were feeling better. _He_ was feeling better. With Mabel at his side, he could get through the rest of his sadness.

He had a great family, a hot coworker asking him out, and a great friend helping him with all the demon crap.

Life without Bill seemed pretty horrible at first, but now he was really starting to feel like he could get along just fine without him.

As that thought crossed his mind, he felt the same pain from earlier in the back of his head.

Again he shrugged it off, and plopped down onto the couch, waiting for Mabel, who was still chanting “chocolate chips”, to bring the ice cream in.

A content sigh passed his lips and he smiled at it. This was okay. He was going to be okay.

“Ready to eat ourselves sick?” She handed him a bowl of minty ice cream, covered in chocolate chips, and sat next to him.

He smiled at her and took a large spoonful, shoving it into his mouth. “‘Ou ‘ow it shister!”

Mabel giggled at his goofy voice and took a large bite of her ice cream. “‘Ou're ah gian’ dork.”

“Yeah, juss like ‘ou.” He gulped the mouthful down and smiled. “I really meant what I said at the gym, though. You're the best Mabel.”

She swallowed her ice cream too and punched his arm. “I want a frozen treat, not cheese.” Mabel looked down at her bowl and stabbed at it with her spoon. “I know you mean it. And I know, I _am_ pretty awesome.”

“You really are Mabel. You really are.”

That night Dipper went to bed the happiest he had been for probably an entire year.

Just before his eyes slipped closed, though, something cut into his happy mood like a knife.

On the nightstand, the ring Bill had given him shone from the light coming from under his door.

He thought for a moment about putting it back on, but eventually, he decided against it.

Bill was gone. It still hurt, but it was getting better. Dipper had to let him go.

Tomorrow he would accept Justin's invite out, and he was going to start getting over Bill.

“I still forgive you. But it's time to let you go.”

With a quick movement, Dipper put the ring inside the drawer so that he didn't have to look at it.

“Goodbye, Bill.”


	2. Brand

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yay an update! :D
> 
> Content warnings; Noncon smut and a panic attack happens.
> 
> Hope you guys enjoy :D

Dipper woke up with a gross taste in his mouth, and had to smack his lips a few times before sitting up, just so that it would lessen.

He knew he was prone to morning breath, but whatever this was, was ridiculous. Had he eaten anything weird? No, not that he could think of.

“Hm,” he hummed as he pulled himself out of bed.

This morning he had decided to wake up early, so that he could make himself as clean and presentable as possible, so that he could accept the date with Justin with pride.

Other than the horrid taste in his mouth, Dipper felt like that day was going to be great. He felt at peace, and it was easy to tell from the life in his eyes. Though the bags were still under them, they had a bit more of their color back, and they just looked… better.

“Morning bro-bro! You look great today!” Mabel practically sang.

“Good morning. As do you,” Dipper sang back.

The look on Mabel’s face confirmed that she saw his new found pep as well. “Want me to drive you to work?” She handed him a mug of coffee and he took a few gulps, not minding that it was still pretty hot.

“Nah, I’m good. I think I can handle the big boy car today,” he chuckled.

“Alright. Well, text me if you need anything then, I’m heading out.” She pecked his cheek then ruffled his hair a bit before heading out.

Dipper sat at the table for a little while, staring down into his half empty mug.

Things were different, but back to normal. It was, almost nice.

After taking the finishing swig of his drink, Dipper found his car keys and set off for work, keeping the windows down so that he could feel the finally warming up, Spring wind.

He nearly skipped into the office, plopping down into his chair, swiveling it around a little before sliding under his desk.

Okay, so he definitely needed to work on the missing persons case a little while he was in a good mood. Maybe he could actually help with it instead of staring at the names of the two missing men.

Last seen at their mother’s house a few years ago, and had just recently stopped talking to her entirely. Enough to make her concerned that they were missing.

She filed a report with the police, but didn’t think they would do much, since the only proof that she had of them missing, was that they stopped texting and calling her.

Their mother agreed that they lived in the area, though she wasn’t sure exactly where, since their line of work had them moving around a lot, and she knew that they would often stay with their cousin, who was also a little estranged in the past few years.

In other words, they didn’t have much to go off of. But, this poor lady was willing to do whatever to find them, so Ford agreed to take it. He put Dipper, Wendy, and Justin on the case to help him, while the other two employees, Jason and Tyler, were working an easier case, something to do with a robbery.

While staring at the file, Dipper felt his chair get jostled and jolted up to spin around and see who had bumped him.

“Wuddup dude? How’re you feeling today? I feel like I didn’t get a proper hello.” Wendy was leaning on his desk, her arms folded over her gray flannel shirt.

“Oh, yeah sorry. Yesterday was kind of a… weird day. Hi,” he chuckled awkwardly and smiled up at her.

She smiled back and lightly punched his arm. “Don’t worry about it. I get it. Mabel told me about how you’re trying to normalize yourself again, and I want you to know that I’ll support anything that you need to do to get it done.”

“Thanks Wendy.”

“‘Course dude. But hey, work wise, you have anything on this case? I’m seriously at a loss. There really isn’t much to go off of. And in all honesty, with the way that lady said they had an ‘interesting line of work’, they’re probably dead or skipped town. They sound like they might be gangsters or something.”

Dipper nodded. “I’m with you. I don’t think there’s much to even start with.”

“Well, we do have some outdated pictures. That’s actually what Justin is doing; aging them up a bit so that we might be able to tell what they look like now.” As she spoke she nodded her head towards Justin, who was clicking and typing away at his computer.

Man, he really was like a human version of Bill. It was freaky to say the least, but of course, that’s what Dipper wanted. He had told himself that if he could have only the human side of Bill, he would be happy, so really, Justin was a great substitute for that.

“Ah, I see that blush. Have you talked to him much?” Wendy smirked at Dipper, and rolled her eyes at his small nod. “I need more details than that dude. Can’t leave me hanging.”

“He offered to take me out because he thinks I’m cute. I was going to agree to go out with him today, once I actually got some work done.” He felt his face get hot as he told her more about how they met and found himself fidgeting with the bottom of his light blue V-neck at the end of it.

“Dipper, bro, this is the perfect opportunity to go out on like a real date with someone. Justin’s a pretty cool guy from what I’ve seen of him, and he’s met your family, so I’m willing to bet he’s probably a little afraid of doing anything to hurt you,” she chuckled. “I say definitely give it a shot and have fun with it.”

Again he nodded, standing up. “I’m going to go talk to him right now. I-if he’s not busy.”

She patted him on the back and moved out of his way. “I’m sure he’ll drop what he’s doing for you.”

As he walked over to Justin’s desk, Dipper felt a headache coming on, and it seemed to get worse with each step.

By time he was standing next to Justin, it was a full blown migraine, and he thought he might have to sit down if it lasted much longer.

“Hello,” Justin purred. “For what do I owe the pleasure?” he chuckled.

Dipper gulped and took a deep breath. “I want to take up your offer.”

The blond’s eyes widened and his smile turned bashful. “That was fast. N-not that I’m complaining, but uhm, yeah no. I just thought- never mind. Sorry. I’m not as smooth as I pretend to be,” he laughed. “God I’m so awkward, I’m sorry.”

“No, no, I get it. I too am pretty awkward.”

Justin bit his lip and took in a deep breath. “So then, would you wanna join me for lunch today? We can plan a real date later, but lunch sounds like a good start. There’s this little bakery not too far from here I get some stuff from. It’s really close to Mabel’s shop too, so maybe we could stop by and say hi?”

Something told Dipper to laugh, but he kept it to himself. That bakery was the one Bill owned. The one he would get pastries for Dipper from. Could he handle going to it? Sure he had never gone in there with Bill, but it might still be hard.

Maybe he could ask Justin to go in without him while he said hi to Mabel. That would probably be what he would need to do.

“Sure. It uhm, it’s owned by… or was, I guess…”

“Oh, god, sorry. Uhm, we can go somewhere else? We don’t have to-”

“No, no, it’s fine. Maybe I can just wait for you in Mabel’s shop and we can hang out there? I’m sure Ford won’t mind us taking a bit longer on our lunch. He probably won’t even leave his office the entire time that we’re gone.”

Justin laughed. “Yeah, I doubt he will. Alright then, it’s a plan. At about noon we’ll head out.”

After that, they both went back to work, silently stealing glances at each other until lunch came.

Dipper still felt like there was some weird resemblance to Bill, but figured it was just the fact that Justin kind of looked a bit like Bill’s human form. Not identical by any means, but the blond hair and his jawline were strikingly similar.

The two stayed generally quiet on their way out. Neither felt very brave at the moment, but it wasn’t a bad silence by any means. They both seemed to just accept that the other was awkward, and preferred the silence over a weird, forced conversation.

“Alright, so I’ll run in and grab food while you head over to your sister’s. I’ll meet you in there.” Justin unbuckled himself and tapped the steering wheel. “Sorry about the lack of conversation. Like I said, I’m not as smooth as I first come off to be. I honestly wasn’t expecting someone as cute as you to ever say yes to me.”

Dipper felt his face get hot, and the headache decided to come back. “O-oh. Uh, it’s fine. Like I said, I’m not very social either.”

The two got out of Justin’s light blue sedan, Dipper just noticing how new the car was. He elected not to start a conversation about it, since he thought it would be incredibly lame, and just gave a short wave and smile before walking two buildings over to Mabel’s shop.

He was greeted by Mabel’s old friend, now new employee, Candy, who was there to help Mabel fill orders now that her shop was really starting to get busy for the new season.

“Oh, hello Dipper. Mabel is in the back, I will go get her.” She paused straightening the hangers on a rack, and flipped her long, black hair over her shoulder as she turned to go into Mabel’s office.

Dipper just smiled a little, still a little uncomfortable around Mabel’s old friends.

He had had a bit of an awkward time with Candy especially, as they tried dating forever ago, and it turned out to be a few days of Dipper fucking up and Candy giving up on him very quickly.

Though it was years ago, Dipper still felt the embarrassment from it whenever he was around her.

She didn’t ever seem to dwell on it like he did though, and he was glad for it, but it made his worry more obvious, which made him feel even worse around her.

Mabel bounced out and smirked at him. “Coming to say hi at lunch? You _are_ in a pretty good mood today bro-bro.”

He shrugged lazily. “Justin wanted to take me out for lunch, and we were going to come close to here anyway, so I figured I’d say hi. He’ll be here in just a sec.”

A large smile spread on her face, and she bounced on her heels. “Dipper! I’m so proud of you!” She flung her arms over his shoulders and pulled him close, her face nuzzling into his shoulder. “I knew you could do it. Being happy is the best!”

Dipper hugged her back, and gave a brief chuckle. “Heh, yeah, I’m getting there.”

“Good. I’m glad for it.” She moved back and looked to the front door, her eyes glued to the top window half of it. “Hope he hurries! I’ve only met him a few times, it would be nice to have a proper hello.”

“I’m sure he won’t be too much longer.”

While they waited, Mabel showed Dipper the outfits she was working on, a few so crazy he could have sworn she was making it for herself.

Justin came in with a box of pastries, smiling from ear to ear. “I bought us all a bunch of chocolate filled croissants. I may have got too many, but I’m willing to bet they’ll get eaten. We may just be sick afterwards,” he chuckled.

Mabel rushed over to grab the box from him, setting it on the counter by the cash register. “I bet they will! Thank you Justin.” She smiled warmly at him and pulled him into a hug.

Justin was more than eager to return the hug, and Dipper began to wonder what had him so happy.

Not like it was a bad thing, they _were_ on a date, so him being happy was good. But, this was a happy that almost seemed… desperate. Like he was trying really hard to enjoy this.

Dipper figured he’d figure out more about Justin later, and just enjoy the lunch for now. He didn’t need to be stirring anything bad up while everyone was having a good time.

They didn’t even put a dent in the three dozen croissants. Each person, including Candy, ate three, then was done.

Justin took a good amount of them, but also left some so that Mabel could give a few to her young employee, Jessica, when she came in later.

“Ah man, I hope people at the office will eat some of these. I have no idea why I ordered three dozen of them. Maybe subconsciously I knew everyone would want some,” he laughed as he turned on the car.

Dipper nodded. “Yeah, I’m sure Wendy will have a few, and I know if we pull Ford from his office, he’ll eat some too.”

The headache from before that had dulled, was now back in full force, keeping Dipper from saying much more.

Back at the office, just as Dipper thought they would, everyone dug into the pastries and they all sat around for a bit, talking about everything and nothing.

“So how goes the pictures Justin?” Ford was on his second croissant, and nodded towards Justin’s computer, which he very much was not sitting at.

“O-oh, well, they’re coming along. I’ve emailed them back and forth with their mom as I go, and she’s been telling me how they should look. They should be done by tomorrow. In fact, she was able to get a picture of their cousin too, the one she thinks they might be with, and is going to send it in. I’ll have them put on the file by noon.”

“Fantastic. Anyone have anything new to share about work before we goof off?” Ford chuckled.

Jason, a short but muscular guy with short black hair, nodded and swallowed his mouthful of the pastry. “Cops found fingerprints at our robbery case. They’re being run today. Should know in a few days if they get the guy.”

“That’s good news! So we’re moving forward then. A bit slowly, but surely. Dipper?”

All eyes in the room shifted over to Dipper at the mention of his name, and he just tilted his head.

“Yeah?”

“I feel like you’re too quiet. How goes things? And how is your sister doing?” Ford crossed his arms and smiled, Dipper calmed by the relaxed feeling everyone was giving off.

He shrugged and took a sip of his water bottle that Mabel wanted him to keep at his desk. “Things are actually going alright. Today has been a pretty good day.” He accidentally smiled right at Justin, and everyone else let out a few snickers.

“Well I’m glad to hear it.”

From there, the conversation went to current events and stuff in the news, stuff Dipper generally tried to stay away from for obvious reasons.

The media still thought Bill was just recovering from a really bad accident, since Filly hadn’t gotten everything sorted out yet to declare him dead to the public, and Dipper tended to show up in the news a bit, always something about how Bill being hurt had really put a damper on his looks, and how Bill must be really hurt for Dipper to look so disheveled.

After work, Dipper said a few goodbyes, making sure again that Justin had his number.

Being in a good mood all day had honestly exhausted him, and Dipper spent the rest of the day watching TV, ignoring Mabel singing to her pop music while she cleaned her room. He was grateful that it wasn’t one of their gym days, and went to bed early, just after she turned the loud music off.

He found it surprisingly easy to fall asleep, his eyes shutting as soon as he got comfortable.

Everything was dark for a moment, but then Dipper was in Bill’s room on his bed, the corners of his vision a bit blurry.

“ _Hello?_ ” Dipper tried to sit up, but found he couldn’t pull himself off of the bed.

“ _Pine Tree,_ ” Bill’s voice rang.

Panic filled Dipper’s mind and the world around him seemed to wobble. This was how he felt the first time Bill had forced him into having sex. Scared, angry, and unfortunately frisky.

Bill came into view, looking exactly as he had when Dipper first met him. “ _Oh, my Pine Tree. You and I are going to have some fun tonight._ ”

“ _No, Bill I don’t feel like it right now. Please untie me._ ”

Suddenly Bill was on top of him, their clothes off and him smiling like a shark. “ _You’re not tied down. You can get up_ any _time you want. But I don’t think you actually want to get up, do you?_ ”

“ _Yes, I do. I just, can’t. Something’s holding me down, let me u-_ ” Dipper was interrupted by Bill kissing him, and he couldn’t help but melt into it.

God he missed this.

No, no, he had to get up. He had to move away from Bill. He had to move on.

“ _Let me up!_ ” he snapped when Bill finally pulled away.

Without answering him, Bill just started to rub his hands on Dipper’s chest, pinching at his nipples whenever his fingers brushed past them.

Small moans escaped his lips, and Dipper found himself squirming under Bill’s touch.

“ _L-let me go,_ ” Dipper whined.

“ _Not before we have some fun, Pine Tree._ ” He moved his hand down to Dipper’s crotch, stroking him slowly.

Once Dipper was fully prepped, Bill lifted one of Dipper’s knees up towards his chest, giving him more access to fuck him.

“ _Bill, no, this is nice and all but I’m no-_ ” Again he was interrupted, but that time it was from Bill thrusting into him, sending waves of pain and pleasure through his body.

With no time to adjust to the sudden girth inside of him, Dipper cried out when Bill continued his thrusts, getting right into a quick pattern.

“ _Y-you’re hurting m-me, Bill!_ ” Dipper tried to push him off, but found his arms to be too weak.

The demon slowed his pace a little, and started to gently kiss up and down Dipper’s neck. “ _You need to relax,_ ” he purred into Dipper’s ear. “ _You know this goes smoother if you just let it happen. And, you know how much fun it can be when you give in._ ”

Well, he wasn’t wrong. Dipper had learned that it was best to give into him, and try to at least have fun while it happened.

“ _O-okay. But be nicer. I don’t want to be too sore after this._ ”

Bill answered by slowing his pace even more, and using his right hand to stroke Dipper’s fully erect cock.

Dipper let out pleasured moans rather than pained ones now, and tilted his head back to give Bill more room to bite.

Seeing the silent queue, Bill nibbled at his neck with sharp teeth, making sure not to break the skin.

“ _Mm, Pine Tree, you’re so good. I wish I could make this last longer, but I think it’s about time we finish up here. I still need to leave a mark though, seeing as I need to claim my human._ ”

“ _Mark? What are you going to-_ ” Yet again, Bill didn’t let him finish his thought, but instead quickened the pace, and slammed his hips into Dipper harder, making him clamp his mouth shut and groan.

As they both reached climax, Bill put his mouth on Dipper shoulder, the feeling first soft and warm, but it quickly turned into a sharp, hot pain, singing his skin.

He cried out, both because he felt like he was on fire, and because Bill had gotten him to come.

Even though they had both finished, Bill filling him with his mess, and Dipper getting his all over their chests, Bill kept his mouth on Dipper’s shoulder, the burning sensation getting worse and worse.

“Let me go! Bill stop!” Dipper was suddenly back in his own bed, shaking and breathing erratically, his blanket now on the floor.

“Dipper? Are you okay?” Mabel threw the door open and gasped when she saw Dipper sitting up in his bed. “You’re bleeding! And Dip, you… changed.”

With a few more heavy pants, Dipper looked down at his hands and ran his tongue over his teeth. This was the first time since the barn that he had changed.

He tried to turn, but found that his shoulder was in horrible pain, and seeping blood as if he had been burned.

Wait.

Dipper flung himself out of bed, ignoring how badly his body ached, and ran into the bathroom, cringing as he threw his shirt off.

There, on his shoulder, a perfectly shaped triangle was oozing blood, the skin around it looking a bit blistered and burned.

“What the fuck,” he mumbled to himself.

“Are you okay? What happened?” Mabel flinched back a little when Dipper turned and met her normal brown eyes with his toxic blue ones.

“Uh, dream. Sorry, sorry, I’ll uh-” Dipper stopped himself and closed his eyes, taking in a few deep, controlled breaths. Thankfully it worked, and his human features returned without incident.

“You yelled at Bill… Was he the one who did that to you?” Mabel began working on cleaning up the wound and dressing it so that there was no chance of infection.

“I-I don’t know. Maybe he somehow can still affect me from where he’s at now. I’ll have to ask Filly about it.” Dipper paused and flinched as Mabel wrapped some gauze around his shoulder. “But that wasn’t like Bill though. I mean, it was, when I first met him, but after all we had been through… Why would he do that to me again? Why would he hurt me?”

Mabel shushed him and gently put her hand on his cheek. “Dipper, it’s okay. It was just a bad dream. For now, let’s just count it as weird demon stuff that we don’t know about. Try not to think about it too much until you can talk to Filly. You don’t need to be giving yourself a million bad, and wrong ideas.”

He nodded. “Okay. You’re right. What time is it?”

“Four. We have like two hours before we need to get up for the day. Well, maybe we should stay home. I could call Candy and tell her to pick up my work, I don’t think she’d mind-”

“No,” he stopped her. “I kind of want to be around people. I want to keep trying to be normal.”

“Alright. But call me if you need anything at all. I have Filly’s number too, so I’ll text her and ask if she knows about what happened.”

“Okay.” He moved his arm around a bit, testing the bandages, and smiled. “Thank you Mabel. You’re the best.”

“I know. Now try to relax before work.”

The hours passed slowly, Dipper trying to make sure no one could see the evidence of that morning on him.

Once at work, Dipper felt a little better. His mind was snapping back to the mindset it had the day before, and he felt relieved by it. Though, there was still a tiny thing in the back of his thoughts, constantly bringing up the dream, making it hard to focus at random times.

“Justin, how goes those pictures? I want all of us working this case to see them as soon as possible.” Ford stepped out of his office and strode over to Justin, keeping a very professional look on his face.

“I actually just got them all attached to the file. Everyone should be able to look at them now.”

“Wendy, Dipper, open it up and start using those to assist with your work.”

Why Ford was acting so serious and elite, Dipper didn’t know, but he brushed it off and just clicked at the updated file.

It took the computer a good minute to load, and Dipper yawned at it. Not sleeping all the way up until his alarm went off sucked, and his sleep had been light and restless.

The pictures all popped up at about the same time, and when Dipper saw them, he could almost feel the color drain from his face.

His lungs constricted and his breathing halted.

It was the men who had taken him from Bill’s house. The man he ate. His brother that he was pretty sure Bill ate. The cousin he hadn’t seen, but if he had been there, then Bill would’ve killed him too.

“Dipper? Dipper? Hello?” Ford had been trying to grab his attention, but Dipper’s eyes were stuck on his screen.

He stood up quickly, nearly falling over. Without trying to, Dipper took in a sharp quick breath, that was quickly followed by more.

Shaking, Dipper found himself sitting on the floor, back against his desk, and his knees pulled up to his chest. His hands had tangled themselves into his hair, and he couldn’t stop his erratic breaths.

“C-Call- get- I want Mabel,” Dipper nearly sobbed.

“Okay, I’ll call Mabel. She’ll be here soon,” Ford said softly.

Justin and Wendy each sat down next to him, Wendy rubbing his back and Justin trying to talk him down.

“Hey, it’s alright. You’re here with friends and family. See? Wendy is right here. How long have you known her for?” Justin’s voice was calming, and Dipper tried his best to focus on it.

Today was not his day. First he changed into his demon form from a really shitty nightmare, and now he was having a panic attack.

He just hoped that the panic wouldn’t cause him to change too, and he kept his thoughts on Justin.

“Y-years. Si-since I was-” he stopped and took a deep breath, that one a little more controlled. “I was twelve.”

“Wow, that’s a long time. She and I are both here with you. You’re safe. Mabel will be here in just a minute.” Justin put his hand on Dipper’s shoulder, making him flinch back a little. “Sorry! Sorry.” He quickly took his hand back, but not before noticing that Dipper had bandages under his shirt.

As Dipper felt himself coming down, the office’s door opened, and Mabel rushed in, immediately sitting down in front of Dipper.

“Is this because of this morning?” She put her hands over his and helped him relax them out of his hair.

“Ki-kind of. I guess.”

She nodded and kept his hands in hers. “We’ll go talk about it later and get it taken care of, okay? What else caused this?”

“Right after I sent him the pictures of the missing people.” Justin stood up and gestured to Dipper’s monitor, which still had all three pictures pulled up.

Mabel stared up at them for a moment before closing her eyes. “Are these the guys you told me about?”

He nodded quickly. It was nice having someone understand what was happening, and he was glad that he had told Mabel everything. Even if that had meant admitting to her that he had eaten someone.

“Okay, Okay. You and I can talk this all out when we get home and when you feel better. You probably need a nap at some point, so we should get you home and let you rest.” Mabel stood up, still holding his hands, and nodded to Justin. “Would you walk out with us?”

“Of course.” He carefully put his arm around Dipper and helped him stand up. “If you need to walk slower let me know.”

Both Dipper’s head and shoulder practically stung at the contact with Justin, but Dipper tried to ignore it. He definitely needed the help walking. He knew he was still freaking out a bit, and didn’t want to risk falling with just Mabel helping him.

Time blurred together for Dipper until he was fully calm, and he found himself lying in bed, Filly and Mabel talking in the other room.

With a groan, Dipper pulled himself out of bed and stumbled into the front room, seeing Filly and Mabel deep in conversation.

“There you are!” Filly smiled at him and gestured for him to sit down between she and Mabel.

Dipper plopped down and rubbed at his head. “So, headaches, and the dream, and the shoulder thing. What do they mean?”

Filly bit her bottom lip and hummed a little. “Well, I imagine the headaches and the changing thing is your body telling you that you need to start using magic more, and to stop repressing all of it. I know you don’t like to change, but I’m sure Bill told you the more you go with it, the less of a problem it is.”

He nodded and let his hands fall into his lap. “Yeah. I can do that I guess. What about the dream? Can Bill actually do something like that?”

She shrugged. “I honestly have no idea. The bond between you too was really strong, so I wouldn't rule it out, but where he is isn’t exactly very lax about doing ‘outbound calls’. He would need a lot of magic to do something like that, and he wouldn’t have any, since we got it all.”

“So in other words, we’re just going to have to wait and see if it happens again? What do I like, ask him while I’m dreaming if it’s really him?”

“Well, were you able to talk to him? What did he say?”

Dipper shrunk a little, trying to forget what Bill had done in his dream. “N-nothing of importance. It honestly just felt like when we first met. He didn’t seem like himself, at the same time as he did? I don’t know how to describe it.”

Filly sighed and leaned back on the couch, her orange hair falling over her red-framed glasses. “Nah, I get it. He has those two sides to him. The demon side and the human side. If it really is him that messed with ya, then it would be his demon side that you’re messing with. He doesn’t have the human brain messing with his thoughts.”

“Great. The side I didn’t like,” Dipper half chuckled.

Mabel lightly nudged Dipper. “Well, if it is him, tell him I’m going to re-murder him if he keeps messing with you. He’s done enough. He needs to stop this.”

“He’ll probably just laugh at that,” Filly sighed. “Tell him I said to knock off his shit too. He’ll still laugh at it, but maybe it’ll get the message across if all three of us are backing it.” She stood up and fixed her red blouse, making sure it fell over her tan shorts properly. “Well, text me if you need me for any reason. I have to go now to meet up with someone, but I can drop most things to help you. I know you’re not as comfortable with 8-Ball, but he’s loyal to Bill, and would help you if I’m too busy.”

“Alright. Thanks Filly.”

Once she was gone, Dipper and Mabel sat in silence for a little while.

Dipper didn’t really feel like talking, since his headache was still pretty prominent, and Mabel seemed to be deep in thought about something.

“Dip?”

“Yeah?”

“How about instead of going to the gym, we go out somewhere private and have you practice magic and stuff? I would really hate for you to get sick or… I think it would be a good idea.”

Dipper nodded. “That is a great idea Mabel. I can’t retain much of what you tell me right now though, my head hurts. We’ll hammer out the details tomorrow, ‘kay?” He stood up and took in a deep breath. “I think I’m going to go lay down and try to sleep. I feel exhausted.”

“Alright. Night Dippin’ Dots. Remember, tell Bill to back off. If it is him, anyway.”

With another small nod, Dipper found his way back into his room, stripping down to his boxers before flopping down into the bed. He had forgot to change the bandages on his shoulder, covering the three inch by three inch triangle.

He had seen Bill use triangles before for things, but wasn’t sure why. Maybe it somehow meant his name? He did say it was a claim over him.

Shaking his head, Dipper relaxed. He would worry about changing the bandages in the morning, and would deal with Bill, or the not Bill, tonight.

How was he going to tell if it was Bill? Well, he didn’t know yet, but he would figure something out.

As his eyes became heavier and heavier, Dipper found himself slipping into the same blackness as he had the night before.

  
“I won’t stay down this time Bill. If it is you, we’re going to have quite the talk.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Dip is maaad. Hopefully he'll get to the bottom of these headaches soon ;D
> 
> I FORGOT TO THANK PEOPLE WHEN I POSTED THE FIRST CHAPTER SO thanks so much to anime_is_kawaii__, Darkdagers, and her beta for looking it over for me and making sure it wasn't total trash. Y'all are da best <3
> 
> BTW Sorry about updates being slow and weird. My laptop broke and I couldn't type for way too long, so I couldn't work on anything. Now that I have a new one, I'm trying to push updates out for like all of my stories, then I'm hoping to go back to semi regular updates. With that, realize that this is a tiny bit rushed, so please forgive errors and what not :p
> 
> Follow me on Tumblr (same username as this one) and message/ask me about stuff, and I'll answer! Some questions I won't answer of course, but I know there were a few things I hadn't cleared up in Blood Bath that I'm either going to answer in this, or will just tell you if you ask.
> 
> Thanks for reading! Comments and kudos are greatly appreciated! :D


	3. Dream Date

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the slow update DX Yet again life has put me down in the dumps. I'm feeling better, but shitty stuff is going on, so updating stuff has been on and off for me. I got some good peeps in my life though, and all the kind words and support I get from you guys is helping a ton <3
> 
> I think you'll all enjoy this chapter a lot though, even if it is pretty dialogue heavy :p

 

That night Dipper did have another dream about Bill, but yet again was unable to get anything from him, since he felt like he couldn’t speak.

Bill didn’t say anything either, but instead just sat next to him on the couch in the tech room, playing Halo.

Dipper just watched, and found that he wasn’t even able to move to grab Bill’s attention.

He woke up frustrated, and started to feel more like it was just his head messing with him, rather than Bill actually being mean to him.

After pulling himself out of bed, he went into the bathroom to take a shower and change the bandages on his shoulder.

The triangle mark was mostly healed, already turning pink.

“Weird,” he mumbled to himself. Must’ve been his magic.

The shower seemed like an eternity, since he found himself spacing out a few times, deep in thought about how he could get Bill’s attention in his dreams.

What if it wasn’t Bill though? What if Dipper was subconsciously just bringing him back, since it wasn’t quite ready to move on?

“Dipper, hurry up in there! I have to pee,” Mabel whined.

“Sorry!” he shouted over the water. He had been clean for a while now, so he just shut the water off and wrapped a towel around his waist.

“Geez, you didn’t even shave, what took you so long?”

Dipper shrugged. “Just thinking.”

“Okay. Be back out in a sec. I bought donuts!” The door closed and Dipper made his way into his room to get dressed.

He decided on cargo shorts and a black V-neck, since the weather was warming up, then did a quick once over his hair with the towel.

“Any luck in the dream world?” Mabel was sitting at the table, chewing on the last piece of a donut.

“Nope,” he sighed as he sat next to her and took a donut. “It’s like I was just… stuck. I couldn’t move or talk to him, and he was right there. Mabel am I going crazy?” He took a bite of the donut and watched her reaction while he chewed.

She hummed for a moment and swallowed her mouthful of the sugar coated donut. “I don’t know. Maybe. Either way, I’ll be right here with you if you do. Just, don’t eat me,” she giggled.

Dipper rolled his eyes. “You know I don’t do that.”

“Anymore,” she corrected. “I’m not judging,” she said as she held her hands up in defense as he glared at her. “Speaking of that, what are you going to tell Ford? The people you’ve been looking for are all dead.”

“I know,” Dipper sighed.

What was he supposed to tell Ford? He could just tell him a half truth. Those were the men that kidnapped him, and when Bill found them, he killed them. Simple enough. Hopefully there wouldn’t be too many probing questions, and it seemed solid enough.

“I think I know what I’ll say. I’ve gotten pretty good at lying, so hopefully that’ll come in handy,” he chuckled.

Mabel went to twirl her hair, pausing halfway when she seemed to remember that she had cut it too short to do that. “Okay. Let me know how it goes. Call me if you need anything. Oh, and how’s the shoulder doing?”

Dipper snickered. “Missing the long hair huh? It’s doing great, actually. Pretty much healed.”

She nodded. “It’s healed? Oh right, you have like magic or whatever. Which we should go out and practice with soon. But for now, I’d better get going. Have fun at work.”

“Mhm. You too.”

Soon after Mabel left, Dipper made his way to work as well, trying his best to keep his mind on the road. It was hard though, since his mind kept going to Bill.

Was it just him? Or was Bill actually trying to talk to him? If so, why had he done it in such a horrible way? Was Bill back to the way he was when they had first met? What if being in his demon form made him realize he doesn’t want Dipper anymore?

Luckily, even though he had a million questions buzzing in his head, Dipper made it to work safely, and stretched as he got out of his car.

Time to go tell Ford that the case was pretty much solved. Unfortunately. They could figure out together what they would tell the poor mother. Dipper didn’t even think he could look at her knowing what he had done.

A strange click sound from across the street made Dipper’s attention snap to it, and he saw a person wearing a baseball cap and aviators trying to play off holding a camera.

Huh. Paparazzi hadn’t bothered him in a long time. Weird that this one was trying to be so discreet about it to.

Whatever, it wasn’t a big deal. He had more pressing matters to deal with.

“Morning,” Justin hummed as Dipper passed his desk. “I hope you don’t think this is weird, but I bought you coffee. Kind of a sorry for the whole, spilling coffee all over you the other day.” He handed him a fairly large cup that was still warm, and smelled like coconut and chocolate. “Uh, Wendy told me you liked this type of creamer… so yeah.”

“Wow, thanks.” Dipper smiled at him and sniffed the coffee. Thought it smelled amazing, it seemed to bring on another one of his headaches.

“ _ God Bill, if it is you messing with me, I’m going to freak out at you. This isn’t cool, _ ” he thought to himself.

The headache lessened a bit, and it made Dipper’s eyes widen. “Huh.”

“I-is something wrong with it? I messed it up huh?” Justin was watching him intently, almost like a nervous puppy about to get punished.

“What? No, no, I uh- It’s nothing. Just in a weird mood today. Sorry.” Dipper took a sip of the coffee, finding that it was the perfect temperature. “Thanks again, it’s really good.”

Justin quietly sighed in relief. “Of course. So, uh, I was thinking this weekend we could maybe see a movie? Or, like, dinner and bowling? I don’t know I honestly act so smooth up front but I didn’t think I’d get this far.”

Dipper laughed and leaned against Justin’s desk, taking another sip of the coffee. “Honestly anything you want to do is fine with me. We could literally find something on TV and it would be a nice date.”

“Yeah. I can only imagine the kind of dates  _ he _ took you on.” A mortified looked crossed his face. “Oh god, sorry, I probably shouldn’t bring him up. Ugh,” he rubbed his eyes with the bottom of his palms. “I’m stupid, sorry.”

“No, it’s fine.” Dipper took another sip of his coffee. Man, Justin was almost more awkward than he was. It was… kind of cute though. “I can’t act like it didn’t happen. I have to accept it and move on.”

He nodded and let his hands fall into his lap. “Right. Still, I hope you know if I say stuff like that, it isn’t to be insensitive or anything. My mental filter just kicks in too late.”

“I get it. I’m the same way sometimes.”

“Dipper, there you are. Come talk to me for a moment, would you?” Ford was standing in the doorway to his office, a warm but fragile smile on his face.

“Of course grunkle Ford.” With a smile and a short wave, Dipper made his way into Ford’s office, sitting in the padded chair across from Ford’s leathered one.

“How’ve you been?”

Dipper shrugged. “Better. Not great by any means, but you know.”

Ford nodded slowly and scratched at the scruff on his chin. He sat down and let out a deep sigh. “Look, I feel like I didn’t get a proper sorry in. I feel like a good chunk of this is my fault. I was the one who insisted that you go under cover, I got in the way when those other demons attacked you, and I was knocked unconscious pretty much right after I started the fight. I didn’t care for Bill, never will, but… you did. And, I just wanted to let you know that I’m sorry.”

Ford seemed to be legitimately apologizing. Which, wasn’t too far fetched. He usually was the first to say sorry after any of their fights.  “I-it’s alright.”

“No,” he huffed “it’s not. I shouldn’t have been so heated over everything. I just worry about you. The Pines family isn’t very big, so the ones we do have need to be protected. I know you’re a man and can take care of yourself, but knowing what Bill was, I just couldn’t sit by and feel like you were safe. I’m sorry that that caused me to shout at you and be rude.”

“Okay. And I’m sorry that I was less than cooperative about things.” He took a swig of his coffee and tapped at the cup, not sure of what to say next.

“So, you and Justin huh?” Ford smiled and crossed his arms over his desk, leaning forward. “Kinda looks like Bill, doesn’t he?” he chuckled.

Dipper laughed and scratched at the back of his head. “He does, kinda, yeah. And yeah I guess so. He just kind of asked me out, and I figured I’d see where it goes.”

It got quiet for a moment, and Dipper decided that it was the perfect time to tell Ford about the case that they were working.

He sucked in a deep breath and let it out slowly. “Uh, so about the case… The reason I kind of freaked out about it… Those are the guys that took me from Bill a while back. When Bill came to get me, well… I know we’re not going to find them because their guts were kind of all over the floor. And walls.”

Ford’s eyes widened and he sat for a moment at a loss for word. “You sure it was these men?”

Dipper nodded.

“Well, that would explain the ‘weird line of work’ the mother mentioned.” He tapped his desk and hummed for a moment. “And you’re sure all three are dead?”

“I know for a fact that the older son is dead. The other two, I’m just assuming. Bill was covered in a lot of blood, and I wasn’t exactly fully conscious when it all happened. I actually don’t even remember seeing their cousin at all while I was there.” Dancing around the truth was uncomfortable to say the least.

If there was one memory from being with Bill he would erase, it would definitely be eating that guy, who’s name he now knew was Jeremy. The younger brother’s name was Scott, and the cousin’s was Max. Knowing their names somehow made him feel a bit better about it. Not by much, but still.

“So one is for sure dead, and the other two are just possibly dead. Is there anyway you could find out for sure about the other two?”

He  _ could _ ask Filly if she somehow knew about it. Maybe Bill had told her about it or something. For the sake of the mother of the man he ate, he would at least try. “I’ll see what I can do. No promises though.”

Ford nodded. “It’s better than what we had. I thought for sure this case would go cold. Take whatever time you need to get the information, and let me know if you need my help. You can steal Justin or Wendy too, if you need them.”

“Okay.” Dipper stood and bit at his cheek. “Love you grunkle Ford.”

He barely caught the, “you too Dipper” as he nearly bolted from the office.

It was hard keeping such big things from someone he worked so closely with. Ford was his family member, boss, and good friend; not telling him something felt weird.

But, as he had decided months ago, a lot of what happened with Bill would be kept a secret from pretty much everyone but Mabel.

Maybe if things stayed this way, and if he and Justin went anywhere, then he would tell them. Him being a half demon couldn’t stay hidden forever anyway.

Back at his desk, Dipper decided to text Filly and ask if she was busy, since she would probably be the only person to know how to find that information.

It took her longer than usual to respond, but eventually she texted back, informing him that she could meet with him the next day.

Mabel would be a little upset that they couldn’t practice his magic until Saturday that week, but meeting with Filly tomorrow, and going on a date Friday with Justin, were kind of big things, and he was sure she would understand.

The magic could wait anyway, it didn’t seem to be causing any problems.

For the rest of his work day, Dipper tried to search for any kind of record of investigation done on a house with John Does being cleaned up. His search came up with nothing, which he was kind of expecting, since he was sure Bill would bury all evidence of it happening.

With quick goodbyes to his co-workers, Dipper headed home, ready to let himself plan for his next dream.

Earlier when he had called Bill out in his thoughts, the headache actually went away a little, so it helped sway him in thinking that it was in fact Bill trying to… to what? What exactly  _ was _ Bill trying to accomplish?

He would just have to figure it out once he fell asleep. Hopefully he would actually be able to talk to Bill this time, and not be stuck, or have Bill doing something horrible.

Mabel let him be that night, looking exhausted herself from the summer orders coming in, and even went to bed early, not making much conversation.

Dipper was almost too antsy to fall asleep, so he took a sleeping pill then laid in bed, trying to keep the anxiousness to a minimum.

“ _ Pine Tree. _ ”

Dipper groaned and found that he was now in a blurry version on Bill’s room. “ _ Bill? _ ”

“ _ Oh Pine Tree, you got hurt. _ ”

He couldn’t see Bill anywhere, but this time he was able to sit up and move around the room. “ _ Yeah, because of you! Where are you? _ ”

He didn’t get a response that time, and it prompted him to explore the dream version of the mansion.

It was weird to be aware that he was dreaming and not wake up, but Dipper took that as a good thing. Maybe it really was Bill and he could get some answers about what was going on. And why Bill had hurt him.

“ _ Where are you? _ ” Dipper went into the kitchen first, finding it empty, then made his way into the tech room.

The TV was on, but was just blue, giving the entire room an eerie glow.

On the couch, Bill sat looking down at something in his lap, which Dipper couldn’t see.

“ _ Bill, what the hell is going on? Is this really you? How’re you doing this? _ ”

“ _ Sit, _ ” was the only thing Bill said.

Dipper groaned and angrily went and sat down next to him, seeing that Bill was holding a small ball of purple fire. “ _ What is that? _ ”

“ _ You ask so many questions, _ ” he sighed.

“ _ Maybe if you answered some I wouldn’t have so many to ask, _ ” he snapped.

Bill squashed the flame in his fist then sighed again. “ _ Answers usually beg for more questions. _ ” He paused for a moment then looked up at Dipper, his demon features being one of the only crystal clear things Dipper could see. “ _ That’s how you feel about me hm? After all that changed between us. _ ”

“ _ What are you talking about? And answering them anyway would be nice. I’m kind of in a weird ass situation. _ ” Dipper crossed his arms and glared at Bill. “ _ I don’t care if I sleep through my alarm, you’re keeping me here and you’re telling me what the fuck is going on. _ ”

“ _ This is me. Or, well, a form of me. My soul is trapped in the void, until someone from your dimension pulls me out, or until I have enough magic to pull myself out, which takes forever. Our bond lets me poke around in your head. The more magic I either gain from this realm by killing others, or the more I steal from you, the more I can influence you. _ ”

Dipper rubbed at his shoulder where the mark had been. “ _ So you used that to  _ brand _ me? Bill that fucking hurt. I bled. _ ”

He waved his hand at Dipper as if to shush him. “ _ Just let me answer your other questions and we’ll get to that part. As for what I was talking about a moment ago, last night I figured I should put a claim on you, to show that ‘Justin’, to back off. Not his fault really, the idiot doesn’t know why I’m so upset that  _ he  _ of all people had to think you were cute, but still. _ ”

“ _ Why is Justin so bad? I think he’s nice. _ ”

Bill hushed him again with his hand. “ _ Stop interrupting me. Now, anyway, I figured I wanted to see how much you really had gotten over me. Since you seem to have moved on quite a bit. So, I let your mind come up with what it thought of me, and I let you run exactly how I branded you, and the process in which I did it. So really you did that to yourself. Fuck, you technically raped yourself Pine Tree, how fucked up is that? _ ”

Bill let out a chuckle and as he did, the room around them seem to melt away, leaving just them, sitting on the couch in a pure white room.

Dipper wanted to ask more about why Bill didn’t like Justin, and more about how much Bill was influencing him, but he knew he would just be hushed again.

“ _ You know, we’re literally sitting in your head. Most of what you think is just in the air around us, and I can see it. I won’t tell you why I ‘don’t like’ Justin, and as for how much I’ve done in here? Well, you know why you haven’t exploded yet? All me, Dipper. _ ” Bill’s voice quieted at the end and he looked down at his hands.

A look of sadness crossed his face for a second before Bill lightly shook his head and continued.

“ _ It hurt so bad to leave you like that. You humans think death is such an absolute end, and I could physically feel how sad you were. In this form especially, I usually never give a single fuck, but to see you upset like that- Damn it Dipper it hurt. _ ”

Dipper felt tears form in his eyes and he clenched his fists. “ _ I-I didn’t mean to… It’s not that I see you like that… I mean, I guess I do, but it’s more of… _ ” He was having a hard time finding words, but he was hoping Bill could just see his thoughts and figure out what he was trying to say.

“ _ I get it. I was pretty shitty to you at first. I can’t expect that to ever really go away. But I am trying to make it right. I’ve been either taking or holding back all of that magic you took in, trying my best to keep it from hurting you. It’s hard to focus on doing it while I’m trying not to be upset over Justin though, so that’s why you’ve been getting headaches around him. I don’t do it on purpose, I swear. I did hear you earlier, asking me to stop, so I tried my best to. _ ”

Bill bit his lip and sucked in a deep breath. “ _ Okay, I maybe did it on purpose once, but god damn it I can see it in his eyes, he really wants in your pants, and to like, have you as a boyfriend. You’re mine Dipper. _ ”

Ignoring the possessiveness, Dipper furrowed his brows. “ _ So you’ve been holding back all of the magic, and you can see and hear everything I can during the day? And I can talk to you with my thoughts? _ ”

“ _ Yup. Well, if I care to, anyway. And it’s only been somewhat recently. Like just now, this takes a lot of power to do. At first I didn’t have enough magic to pull through on our bond at all. I was stuck in the void, trying to avoid those who would want to off me while in that weak state. I missed a lot of the alcoholism and crying in my bed, but I caught up on your memories while I’ve been in your head. _ ”

“ _ Gee real sensitive on the hard stuff yet again. You’re in my head, you know I don’t think lightly of that stuff, why be that way about it? _ ”

Bill smiled, showcasing his sharp teeth. “ _ Demon. I am a demon. A lot of this stuff still isn’t something that clicks to me as ‘don’t say that, it’ll hurt feelings’. I am trying Pine Tree. It’s a lot harder to care when there isn’t a human brain doing half of it for me, but for you, I am trying. _ ”

Dipper sighed. The demon half was trying to be as nice as the human half? Should he be happy about that?

“ _ You’re being rude. Of course I’m trying. You know how much of  _ me _ was being nice to you? How can you judge which half of me you hated, if you didn’t even know which half was doing what? _ ”

Oh. Dipper hadn’t thought of that. He really didn’t know when Bill was being affected by his human brain or not. “ _ I-I’m sorry Bill. You have to understand, I’m in the dark about a lot of this, and I judged based off of what I was told. _ ”

“ _ I know, I know. Save all of your apologies. I’m just letting you know how I feel, so that these tangled thoughts over me can be cleared up. _ ” Bill reached his hand out and cupped Dipper’s face. “ _ Your alarm is about to go off. I hate that our first time seeing each other in so long had to be nothing but us sorting things out, but I’ll find a way to talk to you more. _ ”

“ _ So this really is you then? How do I know this isn’t just a fucked up dream? How do I know I don’t just miss you and am making this up to make myself feel better? _ ”

The white room around them started to change to a bright, eye-irritating red, and Dipper felt a shudder go through the air.

“ _ I want to know this is real, how do I know this is real? What if I’ve gone crazy? _ ” Dipper felt panic fill the entire area and the world shook.

Bill leaned forward and put his forehead to Dipper’s. “ _ Hush Pine Tree, it’s okay. You’ll see it’s really me soon enough. For now, _ ” Bill hummed as he put his hand under Dipper’s chin. “ _ Try not to let Justin get too close. I’ll think about telling you what his deal is, but it’s best to just keep your distance for now. And we’ll talk more about your body and what needs to be done with it later. _ ”

Dipper took in a breath to say more, but was cut off by Bill pressing his lips onto his.

A loud noise ripped the world away from him, and Dipper was sitting up in bed, panting as if he had been holding his breath.

He looked down at his hands and rubbed his tongue along his teeth.

Normal. Everything was normal. The only thing Dipper felt could be different, was the tingling sensation on his lips.

Maybe it hadn’t been just a fucked up dream.

“So, how’d sleep go? I didn’t hear any screams, so I assume better than the other night?” Mabel was sitting at the table, a bowl of cereal half eaten in front of her.

Dipper rubbed at the back of his neck and shrugged. “I had a dream with Bill in it. This one was a  _ lot _ better, but I don’t know how much of what happened can be counted as fact, ya know? Like, it was a dream. Everything seemed to be right, but…” He sighed and ran his hands over his face. “I don’t know.”

Mabel nodded slowly as he spoke. “Well, I’m sure as time goes on we’ll learn more.”

“Yeah, you’re right.” He sat down at the table and rubbed his face. “I’m meeting up with Filly today. Then tomorrow I think I’m going on a date with Justin. We haven’t hammered out the details yet. That and the dream Bill told me to be weary of him for some reason. So Saturday is the day we’ll be able to actually go practice my magic or whatever.”

She groaned. “Saturday is going to be nonstop work for me. Candy and I are making a day out of catching up. Then Sunday we’re having a family dinner with Stan. He said he wants to catch up with us and Ford. Looks like Monday is going to be the earliest we can do it. Hopefully it won’t kill you by then.”

“Actually, from what the dream Bill told me, I don’t think it will. He said he’s been either taking it or holding it back just so that it won’t hurt me. He was… really nice to me, actually. Apparently the bad dream was made up by me because of how I saw him or something? I don’t know. All of this could be me going crazy.”

Mabel waved her hand at him. “If he’s trying to make amends, then cool. I say don’t let him get away with too much, but being his enemy right now would be a bad idea. And you’re not crazy Dipdop. Er, probably. I doubt it. Filly seems confident that you’re not.” She hurriedly finished off her cereal, then stuffed her phone into her bra. “Welp, time for me to bounce. See you later Dippin’ Dots. Lemme know how everything goes, or if I can help at all.”

“Will do. Love ya Mabes.”

“Love ya too bro-bro.”

Dipper sighed once he was alone. He was pretty sure that was Bill. It just sucked that they weren’t able to talk more, since Dipper still had so many questions.

Like, if he spoke to Bill through his thoughts, could Bill respond?

Only one way to find out, he guessed.

“ _ Bill? If you can hear me and respond, please tell me. I don’t want to think I’m crazy. _ ”

Silence.

“ _ Please? I get it if you don’t have enough magic to, or whatever, but if you can, I’d really appreciate it. _ ”

A few more moments of silence went by.

“ _ Isn’t hearing voices a sign of being crazy? Like how is me talking to you like this going to make you think you’re sane? _ ”

Relief washed over Dipper. “ _ Well, this is better than thinking in circles all day. Besides, I’m putting a lot of faith in this actually being you. _ ”

  
“ _ Oh it’s me Pine Tree. And until I can get my body back, I’m stuck right up in your head. I hope you had fun missing me, ‘cause I’m back. And you’re not getting rid of me so easily this time. _ ”

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Bill's back baby! Well, sort of. And he knows Justin's secret ;)
> 
> RIP Dip though, poor baby thinks he's lost his marbles.


	4. Q and A

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Soooo I'm like super sorry for the unexpected hiatus this went on :L I just kinda got wrapped up in other things, plus I'm moving and dealing with my shitty ex right now, so I just didn't get around to it.
> 
> This chapter is pretty dialogue heavy. whoOPS.
> 
> But anyway, I hope you enjoy this new chapter :3

“ _You’re the slowest driver ever, good god Pine Tree._ ”

Dipper groaned. Having Bill in his head maybe wasn’t the best thing. Sure he had missed him, but it hadn’t even been an hour and already Bill was driving him crazy.

“ _I’m driving_ you _crazy? You’re the one who wanted me to talk to you. Do you know hard it is to keep the link up while I’m killing shit over here?_ ”

“You don’t _have_ to be doing it the whole time.”

“ _First off, I want to, secondly, you just responded out loud. Try not to do that or else you won’t be the only one who thinks you’ve lost it kid._ ”

“ _Yeah, yeah. I’ll get used to it._ ”

At work, Dipper had the same experience as he had the day before while getting out of his car; the same strange person was taking pictures, and trying to act like they weren’t.

“ _Hm, paparazzi is still bugging you huh? I saw the creep yesterday. I wonder what they’re trying to accomplish._ ”

“If I knew, I’d do something about it.” Dipper closed his car door and started to walk to the building, trying to act like he hadn’t noticed the guy, just in case he would someday need the element of surprise.

“ _Out loud._ ”

“ _Shut up._ ”

“ _I’m just trying to help, yeesh._ ”

Inside, Dipper was met with Justin, who was all smiles and had another cup of coffee for him.

“H-hey. Morning. How was your night?” He flipped his hair a little, since his bangs were just long enough to get into his eyes and had clearly been bugging him. The flip only put all of the hair over his right eye, but he seemed fine with it.

“ _Oh this’ll be good. I get to commentate on this asshole._ ”

“ _Bill shut up._ ” Dipper smiled and nodded in thanks for the drink. “It was alright. How was yours?”

“Oh you know. Boring beyond belief,” he chuckled. He stood up from his chair and leaned against his desk, looking down at his feet. “So uh, tomorrow I was thinking we could go to dinner at this place my mom used to take me to, then kind of decide after that what we feel like.”

“ _You’re still going to go on this date, aren’t you?_ ”

“That sounds nice.” Dipper elected to ignore Bill. Of course he was still going to go on this date. It would look weird if he suddenly backed out and started to be how he was with Bill again. “What time did you want to go?”

“ _Fair enough. Can’t promise that I won’t practice my yodeling skills the entire time though._ ”

Dipper cleared his throat to stifle his laughter.

“How about seven? I’ll be out of here at about five, so that’ll give us both time to shower or whatever. Did you want to meet there?”

“ _Okay, so fine you’re doing this. But you realize that if the paparazzi sees you on a date, they’re going to blow this up into something crazy. You’ll be the center of attention all over again._ ”

Crap, Dipper hadn’t thought about that. Filly was still telling the whole, Bill’s just been injured thing, just in case. Thankfully she had, because clearly Bill wasn’t completely dead, and chances of him coming back in his body had just become a lot higher.

“Yeah, but how like, private is this place? I don’t mean this to sound rude in any way, but I can’t really be seen out with someone on a date right now. There’s all these stupid things going on with the whole Bill thing.” Dipper smiled warmly, hoping that Justin would understand.

“ _Ooh, being honest with him I see. How far will this honesty go though? There really are a few things you shouldn’t say to him. Though I guess it could be good for a laugh. To watch him freak out. It’d be like old times._ ”

“Oh. Well, I could get us a table near the back, and we could come at different times. I know the owners, so they’ll be really chill about giving us privacy. I totally understand that we need to work around some stuff.” He smiled back, which made Dipper feel relieved.

He ignored Bill for a minute, so that he could at least finish up talking to Justin. He felt like it was a bit rude to be talking to Bill and him at the same time. “Okay, that sounds good. I’ll text you closer to so that you’ll know when I’m coming.”

Justin nodded. “Perfect. Enjoy your coffee.”

Dipper lifted the cup and took a sip, then turned away to go to his desk.

“ _Okay, now what Bill? Like old times? Did you know him? Why are you acting weird about him? Who is he?_ ”

Bill laughed so hard that it weirdly echoed in Dipper’s head. “ _No, you know what? This will be fun. You either get to piece it together yourself somehow, or wait until I can’t handle it anymore and spill the beans._ ”

Dipper groaned. “Jerk.”

“ _Careful, you’re at work. Someone will definitely notice you talking to yourself._ ”

“ _Whatever._ ”

Dipper sat organizing his desk while he waited for the file on the “missing” men to print, since he decided that he was going to bring it with to talk to Filly, in case she would need it for some reason.

Bill had gotten quiet, and Dipper just figured that he was busy in the void. That is, until he heard the demon swear, cursing over and over as a sharp pain in the back of his head made Dipper cringe.

“ _Bill what the hell? This hurts!_ ”

“ _Sorry, sorry, trying to move magic around. Just focus on what you’re going to say to Filly._ ”

“ _Kind of hard to do with a migraine from hell!_ ”

Bill went quiet again and eventually the pain eased up.

Dipper hadn’t noticed, but he had buried his face in his hands, his elbows resting on his desk and his toes uncomfortably curled in his shoes.

“Dude, are you okay?” Wendy was next to him, looking at him worriedly.

“Fine, Fine. Just a migraine,” Dipper mumbled as he pulled his hands away from his face. Dealing with this crap at work was going to be difficult. The others were probably keeping a really close eye on him now, and he was sure that they wouldn’t let a lot of this slide, since they were likely worried about his mental state.

“Alright. Let me know if you need anything. ‘Kay?”

He nodded and stood up, looking to the printer near Ford’s door. “I’m going out to talk to someone about the case. I’ll be back. Maybe, I don’t know this might take a while.”

After grabbing the files and tucking them into a folder, Dipper peaked into Ford’s office to let him know that he was heading out.

“Hey Ford. I’m going to talk to someone about the case now. I might not be back before five.”

Ford looked up from his laptop, blinking for a moment while he processed what had been said to him. “Ah okay, that’s fine. Let me know if you need anything. And be safe.”

“Will do,” he nodded as he closed the door. Dipper made sure to grab his coffee off of his desk before leaving, and gave Justin a smile as he slipped out of the office.

Thankfully the weird camera guy wasn’t there, and Dipper had a moment to himself in his car after tossing the file into the passenger seat and placing his coffee into the cup holder.

He wanted to organize his thoughts a little before he talked with Filly, so that he didn’t just ramble on to her or confuse what he was trying to say.

First, did she know anything about how Bill was doing all of this? Secondly, how was everything with the demons going, and were the angry ones planning anything? Then he would ask about the case, so that that information would be freshest on his brain.

With a deep breath and a large swig of his coffee, Dipper turned the car on and made his way to where Filly had told him to meet her.

The drive was peaceful, Dipper keeping the passenger window open just enough to let in the warming up spring air. He was glad that winter was over, and that the new season was bringing so much change. Winter hadn’t been the best for him, so as he breathed in the fresh air he felt himself relax.

“ _So,_ ” Bill’s voice startled Dipper and he nearly swerved the car.

“Jesus fucking christ Bill, don’t do that!”

“ _Yeesh, calm down, you know I’m here, how was this a surprise?_ ”

“Well you were quiet for a while, so I wasn’t expecting the sudden talk.” Dipper took a few calming breaths and made sure he was focusing on the road.

“ _You’re talking out loud again. Also, what I was going to say before you nearly killed yourself, was that I finished moving stuff around, so no more headaches for now. Also it should keep you from having those intrusive thoughts, even though they haven’t seemed to be bothering you._ ”

“ _So how are you still talking then?_ ” Dipper joked.

Bill didn’t respond and Dipper sighed.

“I was joking, don’t take that to heart. I really do appreciate you doing all of this for me.”

Still nothing.

“Ugh, Bill, c’mon. We should be able to joke with each other. You’re in my head, you know I didn’t mean it.”

For whatever reason, Bill still didn’t respond, so Dipper figured that he was probably just dealing with something in the void. Which was fine, because he had just arrived at the little coffee shop that Filly had told him to go to.

The building was tucked between two larger ones and looked more like a tattoo parlor than a coffee shop, due to its dark color scheme and painted on sign, which read, “Dark CoffE”.

He parked in front of it, since there weren’t any other cars there, then sat for a moment, wondering if he had gotten the address correct. Just to be sure, he sent Filly a quick text asking if she were there yet while finishing off his drink.

‘ _Not yet srry, finished up a meeting L8. B there in a sec. Just go in and find a table. Ur @ CoffE right?’_

‘ _Yup. I’ll wait for u inside then_ ’

Dipper killed the engine then hesitantly made his way into the shop, finding that the inside was much nicer than the outside of the shop.

There were black, leather booths along the walls, small tables in the middle that each had roses on them, which matched the red counter that was along the back wall.

The lighting was low, and the two windows in the front had thick, gray curtains covering any natural light coming in. With that and the smell of coffee, the small building felt incredibly cozy, and Dipper was relaxed the moment he closed the door.

A short guy with long black hair was behind the counter, looking incredibly bored and was watching a video on his phone. His head shot up when the door closed, and he quickly tucked his phone into his pocket.

“S-sorry, I uh. It gets super slow sometimes.”

Dipper just laughed and nodded as he walked closer to the counter. “It’s fine, I sometimes play games on my work computer. My boss never seems to mind it though.”

“Well, you’re Dipper Pines, right? ‘Cause technically you are my boss. Sure I have my supervisor, but Mr. Cipher was always the boss. And since he’s kind of not around right now, that leaves you or Phoebe.”

“Phoebe?” Dipper leaned on the counter and gave the younger man a questioning look.

“Uh, yeah, the lady with red hair? You and her are dealing with everyone and everything right now, aren’t you?”

Dipper eyed him for a moment, wondering if he was a human or not. “Oh, right, sorry I know her more by a nickname. Yeah, we are.” He wasn’t sure how much he should say to him, just in case he wasn’t supposed to hear anything.

“So then that makes you my boss,” he laughed. “What’ll it be boss man? Our specialty is black coffee, hence the name, but I can make pretty much anything.”

Though Dipper had just had some coffee, more didn’t sound like too bad of an idea. As he went to look at the menu though, another type of drink caught his eye, and he chuckled quietly.

“You have green tea?”

“That and pretty much every other tea. Ciph- er, _Mr_. Cipher likes to keep a little of everything to drink here. The man is crazy organized with all of his businesses, I have no idea how he did it all.”

“With help,” a high pitched voice said as the door closed. “There’s no way that bastard could do all of this without my help.” Filly’s tone was light and joking, and she had a smile on her face, which Dipper was hoping Bill saw so that he wouldn’t be sour about what she had said.

She flipped the open sign around, then briskly made her way over to Dipper. “Did ya get what you want yet? ‘Cause I want the blackest coffee ya got, with blood and chocolate mixed into it.”

Dipper’s eyes went wide as she ordered her drink, looking to the barista to see his reaction.

“Can do. And you?”

He must be in on the demon thing then, Dipper figured.

Both sets of eyes went to Dipper, who stammered for a moment before answering. “Green tea. With a bunch of sugar.”

“Got it. I’ll bring them out to you.” He turned to start making the drinks, and Dipper followed Filly to one of the booths along the wall.

She sat down with a light “oof” and wiggled a little to get comfortable. “So, let’s get this ball rollin’. What did ya wanna talk about?”

Dipper sat across from her and figured he’d try Bill one more time before starting a conversation.

“ _If you’re going to say something, say it now before I start talking to Filly._ ”

Again, there was no answer, so Dipper took in a deep breath and let the first thing that came to mind come out.

“Bill is in my head,” he said quickly.

Her eyebrows knitted together and she tilted her head. “...In what way?”

“Well, I had another dream with him, and we sat and talked. I guess he’s been the one keeping the magic from killing me, and is like taking it to make himself stronger while he kills others in the void. After the dream, I tried to talk to him with my thoughts, and he responded. Though he’s not responding now, I think I pissed him off or something, but uh. Yeah.”

Filly looked at the table, tapping her long, red painted fingernails on it. “So, he’s tryin’ to come back then? Has he said when he’ll have the magic to do it? Or has he told you about how we can bring him back?”

Dipper shook his head. “So far it’s been him… apologizing, mostly. He has mentioned that he has a lot more magic now. Though I don’t get why he hasn’t just taken all of my magic yet and used that to come back.”

“Dipper, magic is a tricky thing. Moving too much around at one time could backfire horribly, and kill the both of you. I’m sure he’s moving what he can as quickly as he can. The void isn’t somewhere someone wants to be stuck.”

The barista brought their drinks over, smiling politely as he set them on the table. “Let me know if you need anything else.”

“Feel free to get back on your phone,” Dipper chuckled.

“Thanks,” he smiled as made his way back to the counter.

“Has he said anything about our conversation so far?” Filly took a sip of her drink, humming pleasantly at its taste.

He shook his head and grabbed his tea, looking down at it for a moment before taking a swig. “I said something as a joke and I think he took it too seriously and isn’t talking to me now.”

“Ya big baby, how dare you not say hi to me just because of that stick up your ass,” Filly pouted. “I miss you too ya big goof,” she giggled.

“So then, you don’t think I’m crazy? Like this is something that he can actually do? This is really Bill?” Dipper took another drink, the taste sending him back to when he would sit in the kitchen with Bill and chat about little things. It was nice.

She shrugged and took out her phone, replying to a text as she spoke. “Sounds like something he could do. Especially if he’s been taking magic from you. It would be nice to know a time frame of his comeback though, if he is planning one anyway, which I would guess that he is.”

“Once he decides to talk to me again, I’ll ask.”

“Good. The others are getting a little antsy with everything. None are thinking of doing any kind of freak out over it, with the exception of the rebels, so it’s not too big of a deal, but it would give everyone some peace of mind. Bill is a fantastic leader, and generally makes sure everyone is happy. I think that’s why most of them haven’t stepped out of line; they actually like Bill leading us.”

Dipper nodded slowly. This was the perfect time to segway into his next topic that he wanted to bring up, and since Bill hadn’t said anything yet, he continued the conversation. “Have you heard much on the ones that have? If the tame ones are getting antsy then I can’t imagine what the others are doing.”

Filly let out a sigh and ran her hand through her bangs, letting them flop haphazardly back over her forehead. “Far as I’ve heard they’ve been tryin’ to sort out amongst themselves who they want to become the next leader. I’m not sure how long that’s been going on, or how they’re going to decide it, but I’m a little worried about it. The only advice I can give on that is to just keep your eye out for anyone or anything suspicious.”

“Well I have had this guy taking pictures of me at work. Only when I get there in the mornings, and today was only the second day I’ve seen him. Could that be something to be worried about?”

She hummed for a moment and shrugged. “It could just be paparazzi. But just to be safe I can send 8-Ball over in the morning to-”

“ _GUESS WHAT I JUST KILLED?_ ”

Dipper jumped at the sudden shouting in his head, hitting his legs on the bottom of the table, which nearly spilled his drink all over his lap. “Ah Bill, what the fuck?”

Filly’s eyes widened and she smiled. “Is he talking to you again?”

He nodded and winced at the headache Bill’s shout had given him. “ _What did you just kill that was so exciting that you had to yell?_ ”

“ _SORRY I’M JUST BOOMING WITH_ **_POWER_ ** _RIGHT NOW, IT’S EXHILARATING. I KILLED SOMETHING REALLY BIG, I THINK IT WAS SOMETHING CLOSE TO SATAN HIMSELF. I WONDER WHAT WOULD HAPPEN IF I KILLED THE BIG GUY. IF HE EXISTS THAT IS, I’M STILL NOT SURE._ ”

“ _So, this power is making you shout? Or are you doing that to be a jerk?_ ”

“ _LITTLE BIT OF BOTH PINE TREE. I DID HEAR THAT COMMENT YOU MADE EARLIER. HEY LOOK! IT’S FILLY! TELL HER I SAID HI._ ”

“Bill says hi,” he grumbled.

“Ask him if he has a time frame for comin’ back. I’m good at what I do, but having him back would take a huge load offa my shoulders.”

“ _WELL I DID JUST GET A_ **_MASSIVE_ ** _AMOUNT OF MAGIC, SO PROBABLY SOON. MAYBE A MONTH, DEPENDING ON IF YOU CAN FIGURE OUT THE RITUAL TO PULL ME OUTA HERE. I’LL WALK YOU THROUGH IT OF COURSE, BUT IT’S TRICKY._ ”

Dipper cringed at his voice, rubbing his temples. Hopefully Bill wouldn’t keep the shouting up for much longer. “He says a month-ish. If I can figure out the ritual to bring him back.”

“So then you can’t pull yourself out? Or would that take too much magic?” Filly took a sip of her drink, but didn’t break her gaze on Dipper, as if she were extremely interested in what Dipper had to say.

“ _WELL, I don’t want to come back weak, so I’d prefer to have you use your EXPANSIVE pool of magic instead. It’s okay if you’re not very powerful, but me, well, I HAVE A FEW SCORES TO SETTLE so I’d like to have enough magic to do so._ ”

“Doesn’t want to use his magic, ‘cause he wants to come back with as much magic as possible.”

“ _TELL HER I KILLED A BIG THING._ ”

“ _Only if you stop yelling, please, it’s giving me a headache._ ”

“ _Sorry. I’m getting excited. Tell her._ ”

Dipper sighed and rolled his eyes. “He wants you to know he, ‘killed a big thing’. Not sure exactly what that means, but he wanted me to tell you.”

She giggled and shook her head. “Bill, stop showing off. I’m already going to tell everyone how quickly you’ll be coming back from this. They’re gonna be impressed as is.”

“ _Damn straight._ ”

“Anyway,” Dipper chuckled. “There was one more thing I wanted to ask y-...” Realization hit Dipper like a brick and he sighed. “I can just ask Bill. Duh.” He was glad that he had left the file in the car. It saved him a little embarrassment.

“What was it?” She smiled as she took another drink of her coffee, looking much more upbeat than when they had first sat down.

“I was going to ask about the men that took me a while back, and if all of them are for sure dead. Bill would know more about it though, since he was there and the one that did it. I thought you’d be my only source of information on it,” he groaned. It made him feel like an idiot for not realizing sooner.

“ _I only BRUTALLY MURDERED one person while I was there, and from what I saw on your screen, it was the cousin of the two brats. And since you scarfed down the older brother, then that leaves the little brat. He must not have been home. No one who cleaned up said anything about a third person either._ ”

Filly leaned forward and pouted. “I hate not being able to hear what he said. Was he able to answer your question?”

“Yeah. I guess one of them is unaccounted for. I’d better let Ford know.” Dipper finished off his tea, glad that neither of them realized why he had ordered it, then stood up. He checked his phone, seeing that it had only been about two hours since he had left work.

“ _You can always check in with Ford and then tell him you need to go home. I can hear how loudly you’re thinking that you don’t want to be around people right now. No one would judge you._ ”

“Yeah, but I don’t want them to worry.”

Filly gave Dipper a strange look. “Might wanna learn to keep the conversation internal. Most people are going to think you’ve lost your head.” She chugged the rest of her coffee then smiled at Dipper. “Glad to see you doing better though. I was starting to get worried, so I’m happy that things are turning around for you. We’ll get Bill back and he’ll help us kill off the rogues.”

“Thanks. Yeah, everything should turn out fine. Knock on wood,” he chuckled.

“Psht yeah, no joke. Knowin’ our luck it won’t. But hey, we can pretend. I should get goin’ though. Good luck kid, let me know if you need anything. This Saturday I’m actually going to be helping Mabel, so that’s where I’ll be this weekend.”

“Oh. Okay. Have fun with that.”

“Of course,” said as she turned to leave.

With a quick goodbye to the barista, Dipper left too, sitting in his car for a moment before starting it up.

“ _I’m flattered that you miss me so much as to get a drink that tastes like my blood. How romantic._ ”

Dipper cringed and sighed. “ _I hate that you’re in my thoughts. I just… It made me feel like you were still here in a way. I don’t know. I guess it still feels like you’re not really coming back._ ”

Bill was silent for a little while, and Dipper decided to just head back to work.

He wasn’t going to stay after he told Ford about the case. He just felt drained, and decided it would be best to take some time to sort out all of the new information he had just got.

“ _Good idea. Then maybe you can take a nap and I can show you some cool new stuff up here._ ”

“Maybe. I kind of just want to sleep and not do anything. Whatever you did has me feeling really tired.”

“ _Might have taken too much magic at once. I take some from you every time I kill something, so I might’ve taken a big chunk of yours when I killed the big thing._ ”

Dipper just nodded and focused on driving back to work, since his brain wanted nothing more than to be asleep.

“ _I’ll make sure you stay awake enough to drive home, and I’ll help you sleep when you’re in bed. Talk to Ford quickly though._ ”

Bill seemed to give him a little boost of energy, hopefully enough for Dipper to talk to Ford and make it back home.

“You weren’t gone as long as I thought you’d be. What’d you find?” Ford asked as Dipper slipped into his office.

Dipper chose to stand rather than sit, knowing that if he sat down he probably wouldn’t want to get back up. “Two of them are for sure dead; Jeremy and Max. From what I know, the younger brother, Scott, is still out and about. Not sure where he would go after something like that though.”

“Hm.” Ford leaned back in his chair and scratched his chin. “Well, now that we know which face to show, we can start posting it everywhere.” He sighed and ran his hands over his face. “I don’t know how to tell the mother about the other two though. We don’t exactly have solid proof of them being dead.”

“You could just tell her that their line of work was what did them in, and because of it there aren’t exactly bodies to show. Even if it’s gruesome, it’s better than her thinking that they might still be alive.”

“I suppose.” He looked back at Dipper and his brows furrowed. “Are you okay? You look pale.”

Dipper yawned and blinked slowly. The boost of energy was wearing off pretty quickly. “Mm, I think I’m sick. You wouldn’t care if I went home, right?”

Ford shook his head and stood up quickly, coming over to Dipper. “Of course not. Go home and rest.” He put his hand to Dipper’s forehead and made a strange face. “I’ll tell Mabel to check on you. Are you sure you even want to drive home? You’re strangely cold.”

He waved his hand at Ford and nodded. “‘M fine. Just need sleep.”

“Well… alright. But text me when you get home.”

“Can do.”

He didn’t give any goodbyes, since he was pretty sure he was going to pass out soon, and Dipper really wanted to be in his bed when he did.

“ _What happened to keeping me up? I’m barely able to keep my eyes open._ ”

“ _I’m trying. Magic is difficult. I promise I won’t let you wreck or anything. Just drive fast._ ”

“Alright.”

Luckily Dipper did make it home, but by time he made it into the apartment, his body was too sluggish to do much, so he just laid down on the couch.

He remembered to text Ford last minute, and mashed the word, “home” into the message box and hit send before the phone slide out of his hand and he fell asleep.

“ _So! Feeling up to seeing new stuff, or is your mental state as tired as your physical one seems to be?_ ” Bill was floating above Dipper, who was now lying down on a floor that he couldn’t see. He looked different from the last time Dipper had seen him, his hair a little longer, completely covering his left eye, and his skin was more yellow, and glowing.

“ _Can… can we just hang out with each other?_ ”

Bill snapped his fingers, the two suddenly on the dream version of Bill’s bed. “ _I guess. Cuddling is cool and all, but the new stuff I can do is WAY more interesting._ ” He yanked Dipper down next to him, wrapping his arms around his torso. “ _I can say that doing this while in my human body was really nice though. This way feels strange to me, but I’ll do it if you want it._ ”

“ _I’d appreciate it._ ”

Though he wasn’t really there right then, the contact with Bill still felt nice. His memories of the good times with Bill started to pop up around them on little screen-like squares, and Bill chuckled at them.

“ _We’re going to make so many more of these when I get back. Remember that vacation I mentioned before I died?_ ”

Dipper nodded, burying his face back into Bill’s chest, looking away from the memories.

“ _After we get everything sorted out, I’d like to go on that. Would you still like to go?_ ”

“ _Yes. But like you said, we have a stuff we need to sort out, so let’s focus on that first. Then we can decide which island of yours we’ll go to._ ”

“ _Okay. We’ll stay focused on the those things._ ”

He wasn’t sure how long he and Bill laid there in silence, but it helped relax Dipper a lot. He had the rogue demons, the case, and the weird camera guy to worry about, but all of that melted away while he was in Bill’s arms.

“ _I hear those cheesy thoughts,_ ” Bill laughed. “ _Just stop thinking and relax._ ”

“ _Easier said than done,_ ” Dipper scoffed. “ _I can’t just turn off my thinking. I think about everything all the time_.”

Bill dramatically titled his head back and groaned. “ _Trust me, I know. It’s so LOUD in here. Maybe I’ll force organize your thoughts so that I can focus up here for once._ ”

“ _Whatever. Just don’t fuck anything up. I’d like to be coherent still._ ”

“ _Ye of little faith._ ”

Dipper rolled his eyes and pulled back up against him fully. “ _Just shut up and cuddle me._ ”

“ _Fine, fine. You win this round Pine Tree._ ”

He laughed and relaxed again. “ _Damn straight._ ”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you enjoyed this kind of fluffy chapter :p
> 
> Knowing how I work thought that probably means angst is coming... :D
> 
> Thanks for reading. Comment and kudos always appreciated :3 <3
> 
> EDIT: Lol whoops I accidentally hit post instead of save, so this wasn't sent to my beta. Please excuse errors XD I would've taken it down right after but I didn't notice for a good minute, then figured I didn't want to get people's hopes up, so I'm just leaving it up :p


	5. Craving Friendship

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Holy shiiizzz sorry this took so long. Writing has been difficult for me lately, and the way this chapter went down changed in my head like one million times, so it was a chore to get it together.
> 
> Anyway, this hasn't gone through my beta, anime_is_kawaii because she's really busy and I didn't want to have the added chore of combing through this bigger chapter, so forgive errors. Also wish her luck with all of her schooling and what not.
> 
> Hope you enjoy!

There was a strange calmness in Dipper’s head when he woke up that next morning. All was quiet, the usual hum that had been there the past few months was dulled to almost nothing.

“Dipper?” Mabel’s soft voice was the only sound his ears cared to pick up, and he forced his eyes open to see her.

Her soft pink tank-top was the first thing his bleary eyes registered, and it was followed by her bright orange headband which held her bangs out of her face, probably meaning that she had been either cooking or cleaning.

Seeing that he was still on the couch made the day before rush back into his head, the general business of his thoughts returning in full force.

He winced at the head rush and pushed himself to sit up. “Wha’ time is’it?”

“Noon. Are you okay?” His twin rubbed at his back, her face washed over in concern. “You’ve been out for a long time.”

Dipper blinked a few times, trying to make himself wake up a little more. “‘M fine. Bill just did something with magic ‘nd made me tired.”

She gave him an odd look and nodded slowly. “O...kay. Well, when you’re more coherent, I made lunch, -or in your case breakfast- so go eat some.” Mabel stood and fixed her ruffled, orange, skirt before making her way into the kitchen.

He gave a quick nod then closed his eyes again, trying to get his head to calm down.

“ _ Bill? What did you do to my head? _ ”

“ _ Star woke you up earlier than I expected. I  _ had _ everything all cleaned up, but when you woke up it basically knocked everything over. You wouldn’t perhaps want to sleep for ten more hours, would you? _ ”

“No, fuck that. You can do it later when I go to bed. I have stuff to do today.”

“What was that bro-bro?” Mabel lightly stepped back over to the couch, an empty mug in her hand.

Dipper smiled sheepishly and rubbed his face. “I was… talking to Bill. He’s in my head like full time now. Don’t worry though, Filly says it’s normal. I’m not crazy. Probably.”

“ _ You’re a little crazy, _ ” Bill laughed.

“ _ Shush. _ ”

“Okay. Well, uh, that’s fine. Can you only respond to him out loud?” She idly played with the mug, turning it over in her hands thoughtfully.

He groaned and huffed. “No. I’m just not quite used to responding through thoughts as a way of communicating.”

Mabel gave another nod and returned to the kitchen. “Well, I don’t mind it, but you should  _ probably _ -”

“Yeah, yeah, keep it to myself. I know.” Dipper ran a hand through his hair rolling his eyes mostly at himself. He really did need to work on keeping quiet.

“ _ So, today’s that date you have with, ‘Justin’. Mind if I step out for that one? _ ”

“ _ You would be the jealous type, _ ” Dipper chuckled.

“ _ Possessive is more like it. Right now anyway. Without my human brain, all of my ‘emotions’ have been temporarily changed to ones that my demon form can understand. My love for you, at the moment, has been changed to lust and ownership. _ ”

“ _ Lovely. Yeah, feel free to opt outa this. I’m sure it’ll be a train wreck anyway. I’ll be a nervous wreck the entire time. _ ”

“Seriously though, you should eat. You look like Hell bro-bro,” his twin shouted from the other room.

Begrudgingly, Dipper forced himself up and made his way into the kitchen to get a plate of whatever Mabel had made.

She spun around with a plate of salad already in her hands, shoving it forward at him. “You’re eating healthy today. Also, if Bill is in there and he can hear me, then I hope he hears this; If you hurt my brother anymore I’ll take this wooden spoon and beat you to death with it!” She pointed to the spoon in the bowl of salad, a very stern grimace on her face.

“Jesus Christ,” Dipper laughed as he took the plate.

“ _ Tell her I’m going to eat you. _ ”

“What no, I’m not going to say that.” Dipper crinkled his nose and rolled his eyes as if Bill were there to see him doing so.

Mabel booped him on the cheek. “Which one of those answers were meant for me? ‘Cause if he said something you’re not going to repeat, then I’ll kill him.”

“ _ Bring it, I’ll fight my sister in law. Come at me! _ ”

“Bill, oh my god.” Dipper couldn’t help but laugh at his joking tone, but was interrupted by Mabel grabbing his plate and putting it on the counter before shaking his shoulders.

“What’d he say? He’s he talking smack? Bring it on old man!” She was right in Dipper’s face, pointing and talking at him as if he were Bill.

“ _ Tell her it’s on! _ ”

Dipper groaned, “I cannot even deal with either of you!”

Before she could fully tackle him and yell at Bill, a knock at the door made them both pause.

He untangled himself from his sister’s grasp, glaring at her as he went to answer it. The smile on his face let her know that he wasn’t mad by any means though.

“Pines.”

For a second, Dipper didn’t believe who was standing at the door. There, in the little apartment building, dressed in a very stereotypical “hiding from the paparazzi” manner, was Pacifica Northwest.

“Pacifica?” Dipper tilted his head like a confused puppy, still trying to get his mind to process why she had found him.

“Yeah, now are you gonna let me in or are we just going to stand at the door? I totally don’t want to be seen here.” She shifted uncomfortably and glanced around from underneath her large sunglasses.

“Uh, y-yeah sure, c’mon in.” He moved so that she could step inside, then closed the door behind her.

“Who was it Dip? Friend or foe?” Mabel pranced out of the kitchen, brandishing her wooden spoon.

All three of them stared at each other for a moment in silence, only to have Mabel’s small squeal disrupt it.

“Pacifica Northwest! As in the girl that is a model and is super pretty and stylish!? In my living room!?” Her excited face fell and the fists that had gone up to her mouth now dropped down to her sides. “How dare you not tell me that you know her, Dipper!”

He put his hands up in a mock surrender. “I don’t though! I mean, not really anyway! I don’t even know why she’s here.”

The twins looked over at the blonde who was now taking off her white baseball cap and probably very expensive sunglasses.

“I’m flattered that you know who I am, but I’m here to ask Di-” She stopped herself and narrowed her eyes at them. “Weird, twins. Anyway, if I could steal Dipper for a sec., that’d be great.”

Mabel gave a small nod and pointed in the direction of her room. “I’ll be down there. But uhm, after could we maybe talk for a second? I’m like a  _ huge _ fan.”

Dipper was surprised to see a blush creep onto Pacifica’s face, and watched as the blonde gave a quick nod.

She smiled, “Sure. We’ll be just a minute.”

“Okay.” Mabel pranced off excitedly, leaving the two alone.

Another silence fell for a moment before Dipper cleared his throat and gestured to the table. “Wanna sit and talk?”

The blonde shrugged and made her way over to take a seat. “Might as well.”

A little nervously, Dipper joined her at the table, silently thanking Bill for not making any comments so that he could keep his cool.

“So uh, what’s up?” He asked lazily, hoping it made him seem calm. She could be here for so many reasons, and it was making him nervous just thinking about them.

Her eyes narrowed at him and her arms crossed over her designer trench coat. “What do you mean, ‘what’s up’? You know why I’m here.”

Dipper looked around nervously and shrugged. “I honestly don’t?” Why that came out as a question, he didn’t know, but it was probably just from the fact that he was now severely confused.

Pacifica scoffed, “Where’s Bill? He never shows up to anything anymore. Like, we have these parties that usually all the rich people come to, and though he’s a total weirdo about it, he usually shows up. So where is he? No one gets hurt and stays hurt this long. Plus, you’re totally living here now. What gives?”

“ _ Okay Bill, I could use some help now, what do I tell her? _ ” He sucked in a deep breath and tried to make it look like he was about to say something to buy himself a little bit of time for Bill to respond.

“ _ Beats me, I have no idea what Filly has been telling people. Pretty sure I was in some accident though. _ ”

“ _ Great. _ ” Dipper gave a small shrug with one shoulder and took in another deep breath. “Well, there was an accident and he’s been kind of recovering. At first he had to stay in a hospital for a while then he was on bed rest, and now he’s just taking a break from everything. Th-the doctor suggested that he go on a vacation.” He gave a lopsided smile, hoping that she would buy his explanation.

The two stared at each other for a moment, the only sound in the still apartment being the muffled noises coming from Mabel’s room down the hall.

Dipper just noticed then how cold the place felt, his smile fading as she glared holes in him. She hadn’t bought it.

“Pines, I’m not a dumbass. People like us  _ buy _ those cover stories. I’m sure I could go check at the hospital he paid off and they’d have a record of the man that was never checked in, and I know I could ask everyone that works for him and get the same answer.” She leaned forward, the slightly padded shoulders on her coat scrunching up around her neck. “Did he piss someone off? Lose money…?”

He sucked in a deep breath. Filly would kill him if he fucked this up. “I-I…”

“You know I’m not gonna like, go  _ tell _ people. I literally only wanna know because  _ I’m _ nosey. No one asked me to be here.” The chair whined as she suddenly slumped back into it, her arms going limp at her sides. “I think the guy’s inhuman. He owns like, a million different types of businesses, has  _ tons _ of property, and he does it all with just himself and a small circle of people. My parents barely touch half of the stuff they own.”

A nervous laugh bubbled through Dipper’s lips and he shrugged. “He and Filly are just really organized.”

She groaned and gave a over exaggerated eye roll. “These answers are too robotic Dipper. I  _ know _ these cover up answers like the back of my perfectly manicured hand because I’ve used them too. Now as friends, where is Cipher  _ really? _ I’m a big girl, I can take it.” In a very demanding way, she crossed her arms again, her blue eyes wide and questioning.

Friends? When had they become friends? Though Dipper knew she was only saying it to get information, he didn’t mind the notion of befriending her. He still didn’t know what to tell her though. Friends or not, she wasn’t getting the truth. “ _ Bill, c’mon what do I say? _ ”

“ _ Just say, ‘he tipped the boat’. She’ll get it. Hopefully she doesn’t ask more than that. _ ” Bill sounded so nonchalant about it that it relaxed Dipper a little. If Bill was confident about it, then he could be too.

“H-he tipped the boat.” He internally cringed at his stutter and voice crack, but was sure to keep a more stoic look on his face. So much for confidence.

Her features lit up and her jaw practically dropped. “I  _ knew _ it! That dumbass doesn’t have everything in order. I haven’t seen much evidence of his shit going to Hell though, so I  _ guess _ he’s picking up the pieces pretty quickly…” She briefly trailed off into thought, her nose scrunching in distaste. “How obnoxious that he fucks up but can still bounce back that quick. He’s so hiding something.”

Dipper only shrugged and bit at his lip. “He never shows me that side of things.”

“You’re getting married to him and you don’t see the financial side of things? I guess he  _ could _ be doing a prenup, but I don’t see him being  _ that _ secretive about it to someone he’s marrying unless he’s hiding something. What  _ has  _ he shown you?”

“ _ My dick. I’ve definitely shown you that, and I’m going to show it to you again. _ ”

“ _ Oh my god! _ ” Dipper cleared his throat in a very awkward manner, trying to hide his smile and quell his laugh. “Well, we try to be as ‘normal couple’ as possible. He takes me out a lot, we hang out at home… relationship stuff.”

A skeptical look came across her face and she narrowed her eyes. “If all that’s wrong is his shit isn’t together, then why are you living here with your sister? How’d you two meet anyway? You’re basically a cop, why would someone hiding something fuck a cop? One that was hired to look into him no less!”

“Pacifica, please, you’re reading  _ way _ too far into this. It’s not that complicated at all. You’re acting like  _ you’re _ the investigator here. Seriously, it’s not some conspiracy. Bill and I met on accident, we hit it off, and things just went from there. He’s a weird, but normal, guy who just needs his space right now. And if anyone’s getting a prenup it’s me, I want no part of that mess.”

With another stern look, she huffed and nodded. “Fine. I’ll leave it alone.” Her look softened and a shy smile forced itself on her lips. “Now go get your sister so we can talk about  _ good _ stuff.” She shooed him away and took her coat off, draping it behind her on the back of the chair.

After Dipper let Mabel know she was free to squeal over the rich blonde, he went into his room to finally sort out his thoughts.

He had missed work, probably throwing Justin off and making him think that he didn’t want to go on the date. Which he was now really unsure about.

The only reason he had said yes to going out with him was because he thought Bill was gone for good, and now that he was back, Dipper wanted to be with the demon.

Sure the relationship was a weird one, and not totally healthy by any means, but Dipper genuinely liked the happy times with Bill. Now that he knew he wasn’t going to be at the end of his psychotic rage, he really enjoyed the way they were with each other. It was nice to have the banter, and he wasn’t going to deny that the sex was also  _ phenomenal. _ When both parties were happy about it, that is.

“ _ I’ll leave you now so that you can sort through things. As much as it pains me in this form to say, I’m going to respect that you need space and not be possessive over you. Have fun. _ ”

“ _ Thank you. _ ”

Bill “leaving” almost felt like some door had been closed in his mind, and it left a strange empty feeling in the forefront of his thoughts.

He spent the next few minutes debating on whether or not he should turn Justin down nicely and not go at all, or go and find a way to tell him during the date that he wants to just be friends. He would need to find a way to explain  _ why _ he didn’t want to see him, which might mean he would have to start telling people that Bill was in fact going to come back.

After a little while of debating it, he decided on going out and telling Justin in person. After all, this was likely going to be one of the only times he saw him outside of work, and he figured he’d want this done face to face and away from their coworkers.

Dipper sent him a quick text, letting him know that they were still on, then decided to take a shower and relax.

For the rest of the night, he wasn’t going to think about all the other stuff going on. He was only going to focus on “friendzoning” Justin and having the free time to think.

 

~~

 

There was an uncomfortable air between Dipper and Justin, as if the blond knew that the date was just an excuse for Dipper to tell him it was over before it even began.

Dipper felt a little bad about doing this to him, but he couldn’t just lead him on either. Besides, he wasn’t really human anymore, a relationship with one probably wouldn’t have worked out very well. It would likely be dangerous.

He glanced over at Justin who was currently biting his lip and looking down at the table.

The two had arrived separately as they had agreed to do, and Dipper had just sat down a little while ago, saying a brief hello and giving the nicest smile he could possibly muster up.

Justin looked sad and apologetic, which would have alarmed Dipper a little had he not noticed that he kind of just looked that way all the time. Almost like a puppy who just got beat for chewing up a pair of shoes or something. What did he need to be sorry for?

“This place is really nice.” Dipper gave a smile hoping to break the weird tension.

It seemed to work a little bit, and Justin offered a smile of his own. “It is. My mom used to take me here when I was little. I haven’t been here in a little while though. Haven’t had much of a reason to go. Also going alone isn’t as fun.”

There was a weird ache in Dipper’s chest from seeing how sad the reminiscing was for Justin, knowing that the smile on his face was forced.

“Going out usually is best with friends and family. I’m glad that you seem to have adjusted well in the office. What did you do before you came to work for Ford?” At that point Dipper figured if he knew more about Justin, not only could he see why Bill was weird about him, but it might also be easier to let him down if they were at least friends first.

A less sad smile found its way onto Justin’s face and he sat back and relaxed while he gave his answer. “I went to school for a while for computer science and film. I just got my associates and I think I’m going to be done with school for a while. I like where I’m at and don’t care to do a whole new set of classes.” He laughed to himself and nodded to Dipper. “How did you decide to work with your uncle?”

Dipper sat back as well, glad that Justin seemed more comfortable now that they were having a conversation. “Ford was a cop for twenty six-ish years before he decided he didn’t like how the system worked and wanted to do the whole P.I. thing. I was a beat cop for like a year and worked with him while he was a detective in the unit, but when he left I wanted to as well, since he would always tell me about the corruption that went on. We’ve only been doing this for about two years now. We get along well enough for it to work out.”

The blond nodded and his smile faltered a little. “I noticed you two have a weird tension about the whole Bill thing. You doing okay with that? I noticed the other day when you were having that panic attack that your arm was all bandaged up.” He paused and his eyes went wide. “O-oh god, sorry, it’s so not my place to ask about that stuff. You don’t have to say anything you don’t want to.”

“No, no, it’s fine. I get that everyone’s worried and stuff. My arm just uh, got caught on something and Mabel wanted to over wrap it just in case. It’s better now though.” He made sure to keep his smile as genuine looking as possible, hoping that Justin would buy everything he said, and know that he was trying to be as nice as possible about it all.

The waitress came around and they ordered their drinks, Dipper noticing that Justin made sure to get the virgin version of a cocktail.

“Not much of a drinker?” He asked as the waitress walked away.

Justin shrugged and looked down at the table. “I’m uh, kind of religious. I don’t mind what others do, and I’ve been getting out of it lately, but my parents jammed religion down my throat for so long that some of it has stuck. Obviously not too much seeing as I’m gay, but there’s still some stuff that has stayed with me.” A chuckle forced its way out and he shook his head. “Guess seeing all this demon stuff proves their point a little, but still. Religion tends to be ridiculous sometimes, and I’ve been trying to kick myself from that mindset.”

“O-oh. I’ve never really been religious, but I get what you mean. I just don’t bother with it because I always thought none of it really mattered. You’re right though, recently things have been questioned because of Bill.” He let out a laugh as well and nodded to the menu. “So what’s good here?”

With a large smile, Justin proceeded to tell Dipper a story about each meal, and why he liked or hated different ones.

The way he spoke so fondly of the place was endearing, but every so often it was a little upsetting, seeing the way it broke the blond’s heart to reminisce.

“But uh, yeah those are the choices and stuff,” he shrugged when he was done. “Get whatever you want though, those are just my opinions.”

The two ordered and continued their night with either small talk or short stories of their pasts, Dipper discovering that Justin no longer spoke to his father because of his choice of what to go to school for, and that his mother died of cancer only a year prior.

By the time they finished the dinner, it felt like it might be impossible to tell Justin that he only wanted to be friends, since he had just bared his soul to Dipper and looked so happy to have the companionship.

But he had to. Hopefully the promise of still being friends and talking was enough to help cushion the blow.

After they left the place, Dipper knew he had to do it before the night was over, and suggested that they meet at a place Justin would be comfortable with.

“Let’s meet up at your place? I would like to talk some more. If that’s okay with you.” Again he made sure his smile was present and pleasant, hoping that Justin knew none of this was because of how he was, but because of how Dipper was.

Because honestly if Bill wasn’t in the picture, Dipper would have no problem being with Justin. He was nice, funny, pretty shy but that was okay, and he was hot like Bill.

“Okay. Sounds good. I’ll text you the address.”

With that the two parted, Dipper glad that no one noticed the two together on a date.

He thought of the perfect way to let Justin down as he drove, carefully thinking about the questions the other might ask.

By the time he got there, he figured he had the perfect game plan, and that nothing would throw him for a loop.

Naturally, he was wrong.

Justin had a super simple apartment, everything inside a soft pastel color. There were mostly blues and purples, but there was the occasional pink or jarring black item.

They sat on the blue, suede couch, picking up their conversation from the restaurant about a video game they both wanted to try, laughing about some of the ones that they’ve played that were just terrible.

“I guess I shouldn’t be too surprised that you like video games with your interest in computers and stuff,” Dipper laughed. “It’s nice to at least be on the same page with some of the bad ones.”

The blond nodded and his happy face seemed to melt a little, turning into a look of admiration.

Dipper blinked and noticed how close the two had become during their talk, and that Justin was very much staring at him in an all too familiar way.

He was going to kiss Dipper.

Instead of moving away, he let their lips collide and his eyes slipped closed. God had he missed kissing. And Justin was  _ so _ much like Bill, he couldn’t help but let his mind pretend that it was the demon for a moment.

The kiss deepened a little, their lips parting slightly, just enough that they were swapping saliva.

Dipper’s hand wandered up to Justin’s shoulders and he pulled him closer.

What the Hell was he doing? He needed to stop. He was leading Justin on and it wasn’t fair.

Their embrace was too nice though, and it had turned into a make out session before Dipper even realized it, the two messing up each other’s hair and humming at the warmth of it.

One of the last times Dipper had kissed like this was with Bill when the two were soaked in blood, just after Bill has rescued him. It had been so warm and felt so nice. Being covered in blood had been an awesome feeling, and he couldn’t help but miss it a little.

How it felt like a warm blanket, how it smelled, how it  _ tasted. _ And the whole  _ getting _ covered in it part had been amazing.

He could do it again… Justin  _ was _ right there…

Dipper forced himself back and his eyes shot open, disgusted at the thoughts that had just gone through his head.

He had just almost convinced himself to  _ eat _ Justin.

“I’m sorry! Oh gosh, I shouldn’t have kissed you, I just… I thought you… Nevermind, I was stupid.” Justin stood up and put his hands over his face to rub his eyes.

Dipper stared up at him for a moment, still trying to sort out his thoughts and get them out of the gore fest going on in his mind. “I-I gotta go,” he said quickly before rushing out of the apartment.

When he got into his car he groaned and let his head fall onto the steering wheel. That went horribly.

A dull, but gradually growing sharp, pain pinched at his gut, and Dipper knew that he needed another unfortunate smoothie to put his body at ease.

What had even worked him up? Had just the thought of being covered in blood set him off that easily?

It had to be the stress. That’s what it was. Dipper wasn’t craving, he was just stressed out.

As he drove Dipper knew he needed to call Filly and get it taken care of before he lost control and killed someone, something he  _ really _ didn’t want to do, despite how colorful his thoughts currently were.

“Hey, sorry it’s late. Long story short I got worked up and am having issues. I don’t wanna kill anyone.” He spoke in a rushed manner, hoping to figure out where to meet her before he drove too far.

“Whoa, calm down Dipper! Ya don’t needa panic. I can help you out, just tell me where ya are kid.”

He sighed in relief, “Thank god. I’m driving right now, so we can just meet up at the apartment if that works for you. Mabel’s gone, so I won’t have to worry about hurting her.”

“Okay. How do ya want it?”

“Smoothie, like usual.”

She giggled, “Ya sure ya don’t want me to have it cut up in a salad er somethin’? Might be easier ta take that way.”

“Eh, I’m used to the smoothie. It just works for me.”

“Alright kid, see ya in about twenty minutes then.”

“See you.”

He tapped the end button then focused on his driving. Things on his end would be okay now, but he worried for Justin.

He really hadn’t meant for it to go like that. The poor guy probably was thinking Dipper hated him or something now.

Dipper sighed and squeezed his eyes shut for a moment. He could fix it. He’d just invite Justin to coffee and talk to him on Monday. Things would get patched up and he wouldn’t feel bad about accidentally almost killing him.

A new worry came to mind and Dipper groaned. Hopefully Bill wouldn’t be too mad about the kiss. That could cause some problems with how possessive Bill seemed to be in his new form.

‘ _ Bill, if you can hear this, please don’t be mad.’ _

Of course there was no answer, but Dipper was glad he at least tried to apologize right away. The demon might not take it so harshly when Dipper explained himself. Hopefully.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow so sorry again about the wait. I hope this longish chapter was good and worth the wait :p Writing Justin is hard for me rn XD It'll get easier though. For reasons >w>
> 
> Anyway, comments and kudos always appreciated, thanks for reading! :3 <3


	6. Raising Questions

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WOW OKAY OH GOD I'M SO SORRY THIS TOOK ME SO LONG
> 
> For real though, I've just been all over the place, I'm so sorry this took forever. FORGIVE ME ;A;
> 
> Anyway, I hope you enjoy this chapter. It kicks up the plot of this fic and raises a lot of questions :p
> 
> Content warning; Short, kinky, bloody dream smut right in the beginning ;D

It was late when Filly had finally left, and Dipper’s urge to go back and eat Justin was finally sated with the aid of the smoothie she had brought.

Mabel hadn’t come home yet, so he decided to turn in so that he could talk to Bill and flopped down onto his bed with a huff.

Explaining himself to Justin was going to be rough, and explaining himself to Bill was probably going to be even worse. The demon was definitely the jealous type, and he already didn’t like Justin for some reason. Dipper just knew that he wasn’t going to take it lightly.

As he fell asleep, he felt the triangular brand on his shoulder start to tingle. He itched at it and cursed under his breath. Supposedly the thing was his fault, but that didn’t mean he couldn’t still be mad at Bill a little bit for it. It _was_ the demon’s mark, laying claim on him.

Eventually sleep came, and Dipper was fully expecting Bill to be there, berating him for the kiss, but instead he found himself unable to see or move, clearly tied to the dream version of Bill’s bed, the silky sheets rubbing against him as he wiggled against his restraints.

“Bill? This is kinky and all, but can we talk? I know you’re probably upset, but-” He was cut off by a gag being shoved into his mouth. Dipper tried to spit it out, but it was promptly tied on, leaving him unable to push it out with his tongue.

Unable to speak, Dipper showed his protests by moving around as much as he could. It didn’t seem to deter Bill from clawing down his exposed torso though, which earned a muffled groan from the brunet.

The blindfold kept him from seeing his probably pissed off fiance, and Dipper figured he’d better just lay back and take whatever Bill was about to dish, since there was no real way he could argue it anyway.

Sharp claws traced from his cheeks all the way down to his thighs, splitting his skin open just enough for blood to lightly trickle out. He groaned and shivered, not minding the pain it caused. Bill always seemed to be able to make pain a good thing. Maybe it was just his body forcing itself to like it though, since he had gone through so much of it in the beginning of their relationship. Either way, Dipper liked it, and wasn’t going to argue when Bill wanted to hurt him for sex.

The demon’s hands rubbed at the open wounds, smearing a light layer of blood all over Dipper. Bill laid on top of him, kissing his neck and nipping at him with his razor sharp teeth.

A gurgled moan bubbled up from Dipper’s throat and he arched his back, pressing the stinging cuts into Bill’s warm skin.

Bill made no sound as he moved his hands down to Dipper hips, pulling them up against the restraints so that they were aligned with his.

Dipper eagerly awaited to have the demon start fucking him, but nothing happened. He whined and moved his hips around, hoping Bill would do _something,_ since now he was all worked up and wanting it.

He flinched when a hand smacked his inner thigh, letting out a yelp that got strangled by the gag.

The cuts and spot that got slapped stung and left Dipper shaking a little, his body starting to not associate the pain with sex.

Was Bill just torturing him? Was this his way of getting back at him? Dipper didn’t want to think about that. It was probably exactly that, but he could hope that it wasn’t.

More pain ripped Dipper from his thoughts. Bill had dug his claws into his hips and yanked upwards, shoving himself into Dipper so harshly that Dipper cried out and dug his heels into the sheets, his hands grabbing at whatever they could.

Bill’s nails caused more blood to spill out on to the sheets as he used his grip to fuck Dipper roughly. It was nice to finally have the stimulation, and his body was adjusting to the pain again, turning it into a numb tingling that aroused him further.

A soft touch made its way up Dipper’s leg, and he recognized it as one of the magic tendrils that Bill had used before. It made its way up his thigh and to his member and lightly stroked it.

Dipper could feel drool bubbling up around the gag, so he tried, and failed, to swallow it back up. He wished he could at least see so that he could judge how Bill was feeling. Right then all he could tell was that Bill was clearly showing his dominance, something he seemed to do when he had felt weak or emotional.

Which meant that he totally knew about the kiss.

More of the tendrils started to wrap around his body and rub at him, easing his tense muscles and making them go lax.

Bill continued his rough pace, Dipper arching his body and biting into the gag. The pain was definitely not a problem anymore, and he found himself humming at how good the demon was making him feel.

His muscles began to tense again as he felt himself about to reach his orgasm, and Bill started to move faster, his own body tensing at the building pressure.

It didn’t take much longer for both of them to meet their release, Bill slumping over Dipper as they both rode out their orgasms.

The gag was pulled from his mouth and Dipper gasped. He swished his tongue around and clenched his jaw to get rid of the ache it caused. The cuts and claw marks began to sting and his body shook at the pain they caused.

“Bill,” he breathed, “can we talk now?” His hands freed from the binds and he sat up, moving to take the blindfold off.

A cold hand stopped him by grabbing his wrists and a sudden soft kiss made him freeze.

“I take it you don’t want to deal with this right now, for some reason?”

One hand moved from his wrist and softly touched his face, sliding up from his jaw to the blindfold. Bill tore it from his face, but instead of seeing the dream room, Dipper was suddenly sitting upright in his bed, wide awake.

He cringed and sucked in a deep breath, realizing that the cuts on his chest had transferred over to the waking world.

“Fucking hell, Bill,” he cursed as he looked at the time.

It was early in the morning. So early that Mabel didn’t even seem like she had gotten up yet. That was good though, since it meant he could go wash the blood off of himself without her seeing it.

Dipper lazily swung his legs over his bed, babying his torso as he moved. Luckily he didn’t have anything planned that day and could sit and let them heal.

After peeling his shirt off, Dipper tossed it into the hamper at the end of his bed. He would be doing his own laundry for a while. The apartment was quiet enough, still making Dipper believe that Mabel was tucked into bed, hopefully not about to be woken up by his cleaning.

The bathroom sink’s handle let out a loud squeal that made Dipper cringe. “This damn thing needs to be oiled or something, fuck.”

He wetted one of the washcloths that was sitting on the rack above the toilet, then lightly began to dab at his wounds to clean off the blood. He would definitely need to wash them out with a disinfectant later, but for the time being he was set on just getting the bleeding to stop.

“Dipper? What are you doing up so _early?_ You don’t even have work today.”

Mabel’s voice startled Dipper and he spun around, clutching the cloth to his chest. “Jesus, Mabel! Knock or something!”

Her hands went from rubbing her face to his shoulders, her sleepy eyes growing wide. “What happened! And you would’ve freaked out regardless. You’re a jumpy person.” His twin snatched the cloth from his hand and began to do the cleaning for him.

“Thanks, _mom,_ ” he snorted.

She lightly slapped his cheek and scowled at him. “I will mother you all I want, dammit. It’s my job to protect you. But also beat you when you avoid answering my question. What happened!?”

He flinched at her tone and his face grew hot. It wasn’t like Mabel didn’t already know way too much about his “love” life, but he was hesitant to explain to her that he was standing in the bathroom at four AM, bleeding, because he had had rough demon sex.

“Well?” She beckoned him with her free hand to answer.

“Bi-Bill did it. But I let him! It was… for uh, you know. _Reasons._ ” And he was going to leave it at that.

“Oh,” she coughed. “Well, uhm, just be more careful with my brother next time!” Her face also grew red and the two stayed in an awkward silence for a good while.

Eventually Dipper broke the silence, sighing. “I kissed Justin. Bill isn’t really talking to me right now.”

She moved back from his chest, which was then pretty thoroughly cleaned, and hummed in thought. “So you two will have sex, but not talk? _That’s_ healthy.”

Dipper rolled his eyes and cringed a little as she began to rub a salve on his chest. “He’s a demon. This relationship will never be healthy. But… I like it. I love Bill. I honestly don’t know _why,_ since we haven’t even been together that long, and he was so awful at first, but I just-” he stopped himself and sighed. “I feel so shitty. I was so ready to toss him aside at the first sign of affection. He’s really trying to change Mabel, but I went ahead and kissed someone else. Someone he doesn’t even like.”

“He’s never met Justin, how does he know? And Dip, he should understand. You didn’t know he was going to have this comeback. You thought he was dead and gone, and you were just trying to move on. He died _in your arms._ He can’t blame you for trying to move on from that.” She finished taking care of his scratches and gave a satisfied huff. “If I patch you up one more time I could qualify as a nurse.”

“Psht, you would not. They go through _way_ more crap than this.” He looked down at his chest and gave a sad smile. “I know I tell you this all the time, but you’re the best Mabel. I have no idea how you do it.”

His twin gave a cheeky smile and flipped her nonexistent long hair. “I know Dipdip. I’m just awesome.”

“You really are. And hey, sorry to make you get up on your busy work day. I know today is when you’re supposed to do catch up work.” He rubbed the back of his neck and gave a sheepish smile.

She waved her hand at him and rolled her eyes. “I had to get up early anyway. _But,_ ” another cheeky smile filled her features and she batted her eyelashes at him, “you _can_ make it up to me by coming to help me. I’m buying everyone ice cream and stuff, so you should totally come and at least be there to help move things around. You’ve got all that demon muscle you’re not using anyway.”

He held up his hand up to stop her and chuckled. “Sure, I’ll come. But I’ll be the one buying the ice cream, and probably pizza or something for lunch. And don’t think I’ll be able to magically sew just because I’m helping. Because we both know that I can’t.” Mabel usually never let him pay for things, since she liked being her own supporter, but since Bill left Dipper with a credit card that Filly told him he could use however, so long as he didn’t spend more than fifty thousand at one time, he offered to buy her a lot.

She deserved the world, really, but she always refused it.

“Fine with me! But I’m only letting you buy lunch ‘cause you owe me one!” She clapped her hands together and stopped herself from pulling him into one of her bone crushing hugs. “Get ready to go then!” With that she turned on her heels and pranced back to her room.

“I owe you way more than _one,_ Mabel,” he laughed back.

As he got ready to go, Dipper continuously tried to speak to Bill, always getting silence in return.

“ _Talk to me, please. Bill, we can’t do this. Talking is part of trying to make this work._ ”

Nothing.

“ _Fine, ignore me until you feel up to talking then. I’ll be here. As if I could leave. Can I?_ ” He shook his head. “ _Off topic. Anyway, just try not to scare me, I’m going to be in front of people._ ”

With a yawn, Dipper headed out of his room and tried to match his twin’s enthusiasm about being stuck in a small building while working all day. He failed at it. Mabel was pretty hyped though, which was always refreshing, so it wasn’t hard for him to be at least a little upbeat.

“We’re taking your car! I wanna go fast and hold my head out the window!” She flew down the stairs of the apartment, her obnoxiously pink purse flopping wildly at her side, the charms that hooked onto it clinking and making an irritating sound. All in all it was endearing though.

“Okay, but just because we’re in a fast car doesn’t mean we get to break the laws!” He shouted after her.

By the time they reached her shop, Dipper was actually kind of hyped to be spending the day working with his sister. The whole ride over she insisted that they blast pop music and belt out the lyrics, something they usually did when they drove together. It was nice and it helped pull Dipper away from his thoughts about his upset, probably Satan, fiance.

“Alright Agent Dip, we have hours of moving stuff and sewing ahead of us. Think you can handle it?” She stood at a mock salute as soon as she hopped out of the car, looking at him with a strained serious expression. It seemed hard for her not to smile at his eye roll.

“I think I’ll live. This is definitely not the worst thing I’ve ever had to do.” He closed his door and looked back at Mabel, his smile fading as he saw the man with the camera standing by a building a few yards back. “Uh, hey though, I’ll meet you inside, ‘kay?”

She tried to follow his gaze, but didn’t seem to recognize the man as anything interesting. “Uh, okay. Everything alright?”

“Fine, everything’s fine,” he reassured. “Just hang out inside.”

With a nod, Mabel headed in while Dipper walked straight towards the camera man, who turned and started to walk away.

Dipper was determined to see what the guy’s deal was, and he would have chased him around, but when he tried to follow him around a corner, the man vanished.

With some cursing under his breath, Dipper went back to the shop and took a deep breath before entering.

It was closed for the day, but he was met with four women all conversing and pulling fabrics of all colors from boxes on the front counter.

“You dragged Pacifica into this? How’d you do that?” Dipper sauntered over to them, trying to keep his cool and make it look like he hadn’t just chased someone.

Pacifica, Filly, Candy, and Mabel all turned to him and giggled a little.

His face turned beet red and he narrowed his eyes at them. “What?” He said slowly. Having a group of girls laugh at you was never a good sign.

“Nothing Dip,” Mabel reassured, though it still wasn’t very comforting. “Paz just came to help because she’s a nice person.”

Pacifica had a blush of her own and she lightly waved her hand at Mabel. “Psh, _you’re_ the one that was way too nice to turn down. I’m like pretty sure it’s against the law to make someone as happy as you sad.”

Dipper shrugged and grabbed a spool of tulle, lightly tossing it back and forth between his hands. “Anyway, what can I do to help? I assume you guys have most of it covered.”

“We do!” Mabel took the spool from him and handed it to Candy. “You and Filly can go into my back office and lift a bunch of the already done boxes and bring them out here to put out on the shelves. There’s like two boxes that are special orders and need to be brought out here and put under the counter. The rest of us will be over there,” she said as she waved her hand to one of the front corners of the shop, “sewing and pinning.”

“Sure thing, Mabel!” Filly all too happily took Dipper’s arm and dragged him off while the others went to work.

The back room was much bigger than he remembered it being, and it was even messier than he thought it would be.

“I have no idea where to even start. I barely even see any boxes underneath all of this junk.” Dipper sighed and leaned down to uncover the corner of one and read what had been Sharpied onto it. “Finished. Nice, to the point for once. She must’ve been busy.” Dipper looked up at Filly who was being unusually quiet.

She was focused on her phone, one hand near her mouth as if she was resisting biting her nails. She looked extremely nervous.

“Something up?” Dread filled his gut and he prepared himself for what she might say. If Filly was upset, then it might mean some sort of demon trouble, and Dipper did not want that on top of everything else.

“Huh?” She looked up at him and pushed her glasses further up her nose. “Oh, sorry Dip, didn’t mean tah ignore ya. I’m just worried about my boyfriend. Hasn’t said much tah me in a while ‘nd I’m startin’ to get concerned.”

All dread washed from his features and Dipper tilted his head. “You have a boyfriend?”

She rolled her eyes and smiled. “O’ course I do! Don’t you see all’a this?” She gestured to herself and laughed. “Anyways, I’m gettin’ a bit concerned mostly ‘cause he isn’t the first person tah stop talkin’ tah me. I think people are goin’ missing.”

Dipper’s eyes widened. “You think someone’s been taking demons?”

Filly shrugged and put her phone into the pocket of her orange shorts. “I can’t say anything definitive ‘bout it yet. All I know is that if he doesn’t talk to me in the next few days, I’m gonna go find ‘im myself.”

“You think it might have something to do with that camera guy that’s been following me? I saw him outside before we came in. Tried to chase him, but he just disappeared.”

She hummed and leaned against the cluttered desk. “I dunno. Maybe we should have 8-Ball stick around ya for safety. If we are going’ missin’, and if it’s other demons doin’ it, they’re after power. I wouldn’t put it past ‘em to kill others off for their magic.”

“And if it’s humans?” Dipper figured he’d better busy himself a bit before Mabel came in and accused him of slacking. He cleared off one of the boxes and checked the word on it before picking it up. It was one of the ones that needed to go out to the front.

“Then we have an even biggah problem. There hasn’t been a human able to take any of us out for a long time. Someone would have tah have put a lota time ‘nd energy into it. Not many people care enough. But when they do, they can cause a lota damage. Holy things are bad news.”

Dipper lifted the box up and was surprised by how light it was to him. “Holy things? So there are like, angels and stuff then?”

Filly uncovered and lifted another on of the boxes and shrugged. “I’ve yet tah meet one. We just all assume that if we exist, they do too. Bill knows a lot more ‘bout that stuff than most of us do. Whenever anyone asks, he just says not tah worry ‘bout it. So we don’t. Speakin’ of, what’s he been saying lately? Anything on when he’s comin’ back?”

“No,” he sighed as he shifted the box. “He’s mad at me. I told you about the Justin thing last night, and now he won’t talk to me.”

She shifted her box too and hummed. “Y’know, I did some diggin’ on that kid. Bill paid off his student loans anonymously _and_ the kid’s mom’s medical bills. He’s completely debt free ‘cause of Bill.”

“ _Seriously?_ He acts like he hates him. Why-”

_“PINE TREE.”_

Bill’s voice boomed in his head so loudly that he dropped the box and yelped. His feet caught on something on the floor and he landed on his ass with a loud thud.

“Jesus fucking Christ, Bill! I told you not to do that!”

Filly just laughed and made her way around him to the door. “I’ll leave you two tah talk it out.”

Once the door was closed behind her, Dipper let out a groan and lightly rubbed at his chest, where the scratches were opening a bit because of his quick movements.

“ _Now you’ll talk to me? And I thought I asked you not to freak me out when you did.”_

“ _Regardless of how I started up the conversation, you would’ve freaked. You’re jumpy, kid. Probably my fault. Anyway, HOW WAS THAT KISS, HM? YOU SURE SEEMED TO ENJOY YOURSELF.”_

Dipper cringed and sucked in a deep breath. _“Look, I’m sorry, okay? I just… Well, you can read all my thoughts and stuff, you know what I’m trying to say.”_

_“YOU’RE RIGHT, I CAN READ YOUR THOUGHTS. SO I KNOW DAMN WELL YOU THOUGHT ABOUT FUCKING HIM.”_

_“I-I, he’s ju-just… I just miss you Bill. The dream sex is awesome and all, but… He looks so much like you, and at first I thought he’d be the best way to get over you.”_

_“YOU GOT OVER ME PRETTY FAST, KID.”_

_“I did not! I’m still not! The only reasons I stopped moping was because Mabel helped me and I kept telling myself that I had to! You’re in my head, do you not see all of my inner turmoil over loving a freaking demon that I’ve only known for a few months? It’s not normal for humans to have to go through any of this, so how dare you pull me into this world and expect me to behave exactly right!”_ Dipper hadn’t realized it, but he had tenses up and he could feel his body begin to change.

Bill sighed and Dipper could feel the tension in his head ease up. _“I know. It’s unfair of me to act out like this. I’m just upset because you had to pick him of all people to make out with.”_

_“What’s your beef with him? Filly just told me you paid off all his debt. School, medical; you don’t do that for someone you hate.”_

_“That’s because I don’t hate him.”_

_“Then what is your deal? What’s up with him? Is he another demon? An old boyfriend?”_

Bill let out a pained laugh. _“No, none of that.”_

_“THEN WHAT!? Stop dancing around it, Bill! We need to be open and honest with each other! Stop being a prick about it!”_

_“Fine. You wanna know why you being all friendly and kissy with him pisses me off?”_

_“YES!”_

There was a very frustrated pause in his head before Bill spoke again.

_“This is going to take up a lot of time explaining, but fuck it. You wanna know so badly, so here goes. Justin is MY BROTHER. So congratulations, you’ve done the equivalent of me making out with Mabel.”_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WELP I swear the next chapter won't take as long. I plan to start updating this fic once a week, but lord knows I'm horrible with update schedules, so please bear with me ;^~^
> 
> All will be answered in the next chapter, and I swear the story will start really rolling too. I've just had a lot of set up I had to do, and now that it's all mostly over, we can begin the real fun >:D
> 
> I know a few of you guessed Justin's secret, but I think at least a few of you were surprised :p I hope you all like what I do with him :3
> 
> Thanks so much for being patient with me :3 <3


	7. Souls

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is the end of the short, explanation-type chapters I swear XD Now EVERYTHING is set up and next chapter will be nice and long and filled with good ol' plot and stuff.
> 
> Sorry it's taken me so long to get to this fic. I have had the worst writer's block with it, and I'm doing my best to keep it going :3
> 
> Thanks so much for your patience with me, I hope you enjoy this short chapter! <3

“Explain.” Dipper’s voice cracked and he fell against the door, locking himself in the office. “No dancing around shit, seriously Bill, you can’t just say something like that. Explain it.”

_ “First of all, stop talking out loud, there’s people here. Secondly, do you happen to know what reincarnation is?” _

_ “Fine. And of course I do. Is he your twin, Will, reborn or something?” _

Bill made an “eh” noise.  _ “Buckle up kid, you’re about to learn what happens after death.” _

_ “Whoa, seriously?” _

_ “Well yeah, you want to know so badly, so prepare to have your mind blown.” _ Bill cleared his non-existent throat and began.  _ “Souls are energy. And as you know, energy can’t be destroyed, that’s just a fact of the universe. It can be absorbed, which is what I do in here to gain power, and if a soul is absorbed, well that soul finally does cease to exist. Permanently. If a soul manages to make its way around without someone like me eating it, then it goes through cycles of life, being reborn over and over to fill the meatsacks of the universe. I honestly am not sure why. There’s a lot I don’t know! But there’s also a lot that I do know! So stay with me kid,- as if you could leave! -there’s a lot more here to explain. Try to keep up.” _

Dipper nodded and let himself sink to the floor, knowing he was going to be a minute. Hopefully Filly would cover for him.

_ “Okay, so let’s start from the beginning, I guess. That’s always a good place to do things. Probably. Anyway, when souls are created- which it’s a very rare thing for a new one to be made, only happens when it has to- they’re kind of shoved into groups. It fits with the whole family thing that happens on most planets, and just works out to help keep them from going ‘stale’ by themselves. Now I can’t get into ALL of the details, that would take too long, but basically the souls tend to stay together unless something pulls them away. _

_ Having your soul ‘blessed’ or ‘tainted’ pulls you into either the void, or what I assume is what you people consider ‘Heaven’. I don’t know much about that area of things. I only really know a lot about the void because I’ve been in here a lot. Anyway, my family from clear back when I was first shoved into a meatsack, was my mother, myself, Will, and whoever my father was. Our souls were grouped together. I told you before that we parted ways because of different life choices. That’s entirely true.” _

A knock on the door startled Dipper and he jolted upward to his feet.

“Y-yeah?” He asked skittishly.

“We’re s'posed ta be doin’ somethin’. Are you alright in there?” Filly tried to open the door and sighed when she found it to be locked. “Talkin’ to Bill?”

“Yeah, he’s just uh, explaining something to me. Might be just a minute, I’ll unlock the door so you can grab another box.” Dipper opened the door and moved off to the side as Filly stepped in.

“What’s he explaining?” She asked as she moved passed him.

_ “Tell her I’ll tell her later when I have my body back. Which, by the way, we need to start working on that ritual. I fully intend to do a few things in the next few months, and I need my body to do them.” _

Dipper smiled and helped her uncover one of the boxes. “He says he’ll tell you later.”

“Well have him explain it to you while you help. Mabel might kill us both if we don’t get this finished on time. She looks stressed.” Filly picked up the box and read the label. “Let’s not let ‘er down, yeah?”

“Right, of course not.” He grabbed another box that was further back in the room and tried his best to focus on walking and Bill.

_ “Continue, please. This is interesting.” _

_ “Of course it is, I’m telling it. Everything I say is interesting.” _

Dipper scoffed.  _ “Keep telling yourself that.” _

_ “Anyway,” _ Bill huffed.  _ “Like I told you a while ago, I ended up becoming a tainted soul because I drank demon blood. Like you! The stuff is so potent it literally stains your soul. Justin, or Will, whatever you want to call him at this point, a few lives later became a blessed soul. He did it because twin souls become very lost without their other half, and usually find something to fill the gap the other left.” _

_ “How do you know he became a blessed soul? And does that mean he’s an angel? I’m a little lost, honestly. You have to fill in some gaps.” _

Bill sighed and Dipper felt a small headache coming on.  _ “I watched him for a while. Twin souls are especially drawn to each other, even after having been separated so far. As for him being an angel, yes. But blessed souls don’t really do much with what they are unless it’s needed. The memory of even becoming blessed is pretty much dormant. The only reason blessed souls ever call upon it is to level out any imbalances. They’re like statue knights, kind of.” _

“Whoa,” Dipper said under his breath as he set the box down up front.  _ “So he doesn’t know about it? How come demons keep their memories of it?” _

_ “Honestly? I don’t know. My guess has always been that it’s because we’re chaotic energy. There’s is controlled while ours is all over the place. Plus I’m like twenty percent sure someone’s in charge of all of them, keeping them in line. Not like, God per se, but maybe just one of the stronger ones. Honestly I don’t think there is a God. Or Satan. Just whoever’s the strongest runs the place.” _ He laughed and Dipper felt the headache ease up.  _ “As soon as I’m back at full power, I guess that would make me Satan!” _ His laugh turned dark and Dipper felt a shiver go up his spine.

_ “Don’t be fucking weird.” _

“Uh, Dipper?” Mabel’s voice made him jump a little and he turned to see his twin looking at him worriedly.

“Yeah?” He smiled and his gaze jumped around from face to face. Everyone was looking at him. “What’s up?”

Her shoulders rose and fell sloppily. “You tell me. You were just staring at the wall super intensely for like three solid minutes.”

His face burned from embarrassment and he laughed nervously. “I-I uh, was just thinking. About some stuff. A lot of stuff. Too much stuff, honestly. I’m going to go outside and get some fresh air. Sorry.” He turned on his heels and rushed out the front door, going straight out to his car to sit in it while he finished his conversation with Bill.

_ “You okay? That was a lot I know. I can still see your brain working it over.” _

_ “A lot?” _ Dipper wasn’t sure how his voice came out strained in his head, but it did. His mind was going a million miles a second then and he wasn’t even sure that he  _ was _ processing anything Bill had told him.  _ “You just answered some of the biggest questions mankind has ever asked. Aliens are real and now I know what happens after death. That’s- It’s insane.” _

He felt a warm feeling wash over him and his muscles relaxed a bit. His breathing slowed and Dipper shuddered.

_ “Calm down,” _ Bill hushed.  _ “I know it was a lot. You were going to find out all of this sooner or later anyway. Are you at least satisfied knowing why I was so upset?” _

_ “Yeah, I am. Had I known I wouldn’t have done it. I’m sorry.” _

Bill laughed lightly and Dipper felt another warm tingling sensation spread through his limbs.  _ “You’re okay. Just remember that you’re MINE.” _

The warm feeling suddenly felt like a hand grabbing and lightly squeezing Dipper making him gasp and his eyes slipped closed.

_ “No more kissing other people, no more being on dates, and no more trying to get over me!” _ Bill’s voice turned into more of a growl and the grip over Dipper tightened a bit more until it started to verge on being painful.

Just when Dipper was going to tell Bill to stop, everything went still and the squeezing stopped abruptly.

_ “Now,” _ Bill said in a much lighter tone,  _ “I believe there are quite a few things we need to start doing now that our chat is over with. Unless you have anymore questions?” _

Dipper had about a billion questions, like what the fuck was that whole thing just about, how does a soul even become blessed, where exactly were the places souls went to when their bodies died, and other things like that, but he kept them to himself for another time.

“I’m good. Mabel will really kill me though if I don’t go back and help. I promised her.”

_ “I know. Go do that, then afterwards we’re going to start some real work, alright? I don’t want to be stuck here much longer.” _

“Alright. No more shouting at me to talk. If you need to talk, do some physical thing first to warn me, or something. I think I freaked everyone out just a minute ago, so I can’t do anymore weird stuff like screaming because you say hi.”

_ “Got it. Now stop talking to yourself and go inside.” _

Dipper rubbed his hands over his face and took a few breaths before stepping back into the shop with a much better attitude. Though his mind was still buzzing, he pushed all of that aside so that he could help Mabel. She deserved his full attention, and since things were cleared up a bit between he and Bill, he would be able to give it to her.

“Everything okay?” Mabel greeted him as he came back in, a worried smile on her face.

“Everything's a-okay. Let’s get a good chunk of stuff done, then I’ll get snacks and stuff.” He offered a smile of his own, silently reassuring her not to worry.

She clapped her hands together and bounced on her toes. “That’s the spirit! Let’s do this!”

The next two hours or so were spent organizing, sewing, and cleaning. Dipper didn’t even dare help with the sewing, knowing he would just mess it up, but instead helped clear up with Filly things while Mabel, Candy, and Pacifica did the artsy parts.

As they were wrapping up for lunch, Mabel pranced over to the front desk and leisurely checked her phone.

“Oh my gosh! I forgot!” She nearly threw her phone down and marched over to Dipper, grabbing his wrist. “You need to go get the pizza right now immediately and don’t come back until I say so!” She started to pull him over to the door, only to be stopped by Dipper’s laughter.

“What did you forget? And what’s the rush?” He finally moved along with her until he was at the front door, opening it while looking back at her. “Eager to get the day done with?”

Her face paled and he furrowed his brows before looking out the door to see what she was looking at.

Justin was standing there, his hand out as if he were just about to open the door. “O-oh. Dipper’s here too. I-I uh…”

The two stared at each other for a moment and Mabel could be heard groaning behind Dipper.

“I forgot he was coming later in the day. I didn’t think about it when I asked you to come with this morning, Dip.”

Dipper nodded slowly and his mind raced. This was awkward. Way awkward. Especially since he knew things about Justin that Justin didn’t even know about himself. It was kind of hard not to stare at him, trying to determine what might be different about someone with a blessed soul.

“ _ Take a picture, it’ll last longer, _ ” Bill scoffed.

“Oh jeez, sorry,” Dipper said a bit sarcastically. He flinched when he realized he had said that out loud and stuttered when he tried to cover it up. “U-uh, I’ll go get pizza and come back in a bit. You guys, uhm, just wait here.” He hastily moved around Justin and rushed out to his car.

“ _ Smooth, Dipper. Real smooth, _ ” the demon laughed.

“ _ Oh shut up, I was not expecting that. I’m going to have to find a way to apologize to him anyway, so you’d better not be an ass about me being awkward around him when I do it. _ ”

“ _ Yeah, yeah. Just go get the pizza, Mr. Smooth Operator, _ " Bill snickered.

He slumped down into the driver’s seat and was silently thanking the pizza place for being a good ten minute drive away.

“ _ So tomorrow we get to start working on getting your body back? _ ” Dipper asked to distract himself from his other thoughts about Justin.

“ _ Tonight. It’ll be a long process, so we need to start right away. Ready to get this ball rolling so that we can go back to our fucked up relationship? _ ”

Dipper sighed and gave a short nod. “As ready as I’ll ever be, I guess.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry again for the length of this ^~^' I promise the next chapter to be nice and long, and have some good action to it. The set up to this plot just took a while, and I apologize for not executing it a little better.
> 
> I also wanna thank my beta for betaing this and reminding me to work on this. Thank you, Cami! :D <3
> 
> Anyway, thanks so much for reading, comments and kudos are greatly appreciated :3 <3


	8. Lost and Found

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> IT'S ALIIIIVE.
> 
> Welp, I guess I should explain myself a little bit.
> 
> I took a break from this, as I had said before, to work on other stuff. The two main reasons this one wasn't my first choice to work on until completion are these:
> 
> The writing is bad. It's not the WORST, but a lot of it is just jumbled, some things don't add up, and in some places, it's just a mess. Both in Blood Bath and in this, there are plenty of mistakes and whatnot that made it hard for me to come back to once I started to realize them. I understand that this was my first like FULL story and it was a learning experience, but boi it is BAD in some aspects. I debated re-writing it all before continuing, but decided against it since it would suck for me and you guys. So now I'm just going to wing it a bit and try to make as much sense out of it as I can before I DO come back one day and do a re-write. Until then, though, expect some flailing on my end.
> 
> The second thing is that it I had read something that set off a very bad panic attack and it legit affected me for WEEKS after, making it hard for me to write the kind of smut that's in this story. I debated cutting out the smut in this entirely because of it but decided against that as well because at some points it's relevant to the plot. I'm over it now and have written smut since then, but I just have had to tip-toe around it a bit so that I didn't do anything to set myself off.
> 
> Also, I know I said that this one would be long and have a lot to it, but I had to write just a normal-ish chapter to get myself back into the groove of the story. Stuff still definitely happens and the plot is rolling now, but this chapter isn't as long as promised. And it's not edited super well because I am sick. Sorry ^-^'
> 
> But yeah, anyway, enough excuses, here's this.
> 
> Enjoy!~
> 
> EDIT: FORGOT TO MENTION, this chapter contains sexual content.

“Do I really need to do this?” Dipper grunted as he tore a branch away from his face. He was trudging through the thickest part of the woods, clear out of town and away from people. Though it was a bit rough, he was glad that he was doing errands for Bill’s body rather than dealing with anymore awkwardness with Justin.

Once he came back with the pizza, the air had gotten a bit tense and Mabel made sure to keep the two of them busy doing things that were on opposite ends of the shop. She would have sent Dipper home, but she needed the help and he refused to let the awkward air scare him off when Mabel needed him.

“ _Of course you do. All of these ingredients are important to the ritual. Now stop bitching and get the plant._ ”

Dipper rolled his eyes and carefully made his way around a bush that looked like it had thorns in it. He was thankful for his demon eyes in times like this, where he could just see in the dark and not worry about aiming a flashlight anywhere.

“ _You know, you can use your demon fire too. Lift your fist and concentrate on making a flame. Try not to start the forest on fire, though, Pine Tree! I’d be funny, but you’d burn the flower, and I need that._ ”

“I can only try,” he scoffed. Lifting his hand in front of him, Dipper took a deep breath and willed his magic to it. It was never really hard for him to get a hang of doing things, so it didn’t surprise him when a blue flame sparked from his palm and swallowed his hand, lighting the trees and plants around him in an eerie blue. “Whoa.”

“ _Whoa is right! My fire is beautiful, be sure to show it off if you’re ever in trouble with other demons. Once they see you have my same kind of magic, they’ll run like cowards!_ ” As Bill got excited Dipper felt a chill go up through his spine, and the warm feeling from earlier that day came back.

“I meant to ask, what the Hell was that earlier in the car? You nearly squeezed the life out of me.” Dipper began walking a little faster, trying to follow the mental map Bill had given him that lead to some weird flower. It was apparently one of the ingredients needed to do the weird ritual to put Bill’s soul back into his body, and he was persistent about it being the first thing that they retrieved.

“ _I already told you, without a human brain, my ‘love’ comes out as lust and possession. Think of me trying to squeeze you to death as the demon equivalent of a hug._ ”

Dipper let out a strained laugh as he ducked under a low hanging branch. “A hug? Well, that was… sweet of you? I guess I needed one right then.”

“ _You did, I heard you think it in the very back of your mind. All humans want a hug when they’re stressed, they just never say it._ ”

“That’s _probably_ true,” he mumbled. He was getting close to the flower so he shifted his concentration to finding it instead of talking to Bill.

The flower was a small, vibrantly red thing with three petals, and according to Bill, only one bloomed there every two years. When he finally came to it, he felt a little bad about plucking the single flower from between two rocks.

“ _Perfect! Now let’s head home so that you can sleep. I want you up here with me._ ”

Dipper rolled his shoulders and put the fire on his hand out. “I feel sore already, so no rough stuff. I haven’t walked this much in months.”

“ _Fine, just hurry it up._ ”

“Yes sir,” Dipper said in a snotty tone.

The flower sat in the passenger seat of his car, unbothered by his fast driving. It had become a bit of a habit to not stay in his car long after almost falling asleep behind the wheel thanks to Bill, and more often than not he would speed from place to place.

Once at the apartment, Dipper carefully grabbed the flower and quietly made his way inside, hoping not to wake up a probably sleeping Mabel.

“Where’ve you been?” Mabel sang when he closed the door.

“Uh, just out grabbing something. Why’re you awake?” He went to the dining room and sat at the table, placing the flower carefully in front of him.

“With all the coffee and Mabel Juice I had, I’m not sleeping for a few more hours, even though I’m exhausted.” She sat down across from him and eyed the flower while sipping at her glass of water. “What’s that?”

He poked one of the petals and shrugged. “Some flower Bill had me pick. It’s supposed to help bring him back.”

Mabel stared at it silently for a moment, swirling her cup around. “You’re going to bring him back?”

“Yeah, I mean, I...miss him. And I’d rather have him out here than in my head. You saw how it affects me. I space out at weird times.” He picked the flower up by them stem and twirled it between his index finger and thumb. “And, this is T.M.I. I’m sure, but sex out here is not nearly as weird.”

“Whoa!” Mabel laughed as she set her cup down. “I already know too much about that. I’m...on board, I guess? Whatever helps you, broski. And Bill, I’ll help if it means you help make his life as easy as possible. It’s your fault he’s even in this mess.”

“ _Already planning on that, Star!_ ”

Dipper smiled. “He says okay.” A yawn forced its way up and Dipper shivered a bit. “I think it’s bed time.” He stood up and pushed his chair in, stretching out his sore legs.

“Please try to wake up without bleeding this time. I plan to sleep all day tomorrow, and I don’t wanna do more laundry,” she said as he walked to his room.

“I’ll let Bill know,” Dipper said back.

“ _I won’t make you bleed, but I can’t promise other fluids won’t need to be cleaned up._ ”

“Bill! Gross!”

“Do I wanna know?” Mabel laughed.

“No!” Dipper closed his door and stripped down to his boxers in a huff. It was obvious that Bill was making him tired on purpose, and he knew that if he didn’t lie down soon, he would pass out on the floor.

As he thought he would, Dipper fell asleep the second he was comfortable, slipping into a dream with Bill.

“So,” Bill hummed as he laid on Dipper. They were in Bill’s bed, Dipper still in his boxers and Bill in a golden, silk robe. “We only got one thing tonight. We need about ten more.”

“ _Ten?_ ” Dipper groaned. “Do they all involve hiking?”

Bill shrugged. “Only maybe like two more do, so you’ll survive.” He smiled down at Dipper, his teeth sharp shining in the dim lighting of the room. “We haven’t done anything fun in a few days.”

“Okay, fine, but remember I said no rough stuff, okay?” Dipper put his arms up by his head and spread his legs, only having to adjust a little bit to be comfortable.

“Mm,” Bill hummed as he leaned forward. “Look how _willingly_ you give yourself to me now.” His voice was dark and the sharp nails of his right hand were lightly tracing Dipper’s jaw, giving him goosebumps. “I knew from day one that you’d be **mine.** ” His hand clamped down around Dipper’s throat and he chuckled when Dipper struggled to breathe. “It’s _such_ a good sight to see you presenting your body to me.”

Dipper just nodded and grabbed at the sheets. Bill choking him was a huge turn on, but the situation didn’t feel right.

“ **My** Pine Tree,” he hummed, “what shall I do to you tonight?” He let up on his hold and chuckled while Dipper gasped for air.

Dipper coughed a few times before he could speak. “B-be nicer. I’m yours, I get it, but stop trying to squeeze me to death.”

He shrugged. “Can’t help it. I just feel the need to constantly claim you since I can’t be there to physically do it.”

“I’m just going to translate that to, ‘I miss you and am trying to show it but can’t because of where and what I am’. For my own sake,” Dipper laughed.

Bill poked him on the nose and his shark-like smile returned. “I’d say that’s close enough. Now let’s get to it, we don’t have all the time in the world, y’know.” He snapped his fingers and the small amount of clothes that had been in the way before were gone. “You’ve got to wake up a bit early tomorrow to get more stuff, so I’ll make it quick. But don’t think that means it won’t be _amazing._ ”

“I don’t doubt it.” Dipper smiled back at him to hopefully reassure Bill that he was into it and that the demon didn’t need to do any more violent things to “claim” him.

He rubbed up Dipper’s legs, massaging the muscles as his hands went up them. His claws caught on his skin every so often and made beads of blood roll down his pale skin.

Dipper shuddered and tensed his muscle despite the massaging. “N-no blood,” he groaned.

“Aw, but you _love_ it.” Bill licked from the bottom of his inner thigh to his knee, lightly laughing when Dipper arched his back and moaned. “I guess I can refrain from marking you up. But I definitely am going to fuck you.” He sat up straight and moved so that he was better positioned between Dipper’s legs, his hands still rubbing his thighs.

“Thanks. I just don’t think Mabel will be happy if I wake up bloodied again.”

Bill just hummed in response as he leaned forward, kissing Dipper roughly as he slid into him.

It was sudden, but Dipper knew that they would have to hurry it up if he was going to get any restful sleep. The thrusts weren’t anything he wasn’t used to- rough, fast, and filled with Bill clawing into him -and they made Dipper happily moan into the demon’s mouth in between kisses.

When Bill dug his nails in a little too deeply, Dipper’s moans turned into him grunting and trying to push Bill up a bit so that he could speak and tell him to tone it down. The pushing was in vain, though, as Bill was obviously much stronger than he was, and the demon just responded by using his magic tendrils to hold Dipper to the bed.

One wrapped itself around his mouth and gagged him from saying any protests, so instead he just glared at Bill and fought against the other restraints.

The blond just growled and kept up with his rough pace, ignoring Dipper’s silent pleas for him to at least slow down.

“ **_My Pine Tree._ ** ” His voice was distorted and almost sounded like a weird glitch in a video game or something.

Dipper rolled his eyes and tried to remember that he was dreaming to help drown out the pain Bill was causing him. It was all sharp, though, which he found was much harder to block than the dull pain that was growing in his back.

Despite his discomfort, Dipper still felt himself edging closer and closer to his release. Every part of his body was being touched by either Bill or his tendrils, and the stimulation was what he tried to focus on as he felt the orgasm come on.

Bill finished soon after but kept Dipper held tightly on the bed, staring down at him with an intense stare. “My Pine Tree,” he hummed, “I want to just keep you here.”

He shook his head side to side until Bill moved the tendril from his mouth so that he could speak. “If you do that then I can’t bring you back. Don’t you want to get your body back?” He raised a brow at Bill and focused on his gaze, trying to stay focused on the conversation rather than Bill’s magic, still holding him on the bed. The tendrils were moving around, squirming as if they had their own mind and it creeped Dipper out.

“I do…” Bill looked away from him and a few of the tendrils receded. “I suppose I’m just excited to be around you again.”

As his limbs were freed, Dipper sat up and looked himself over, pleased to find that he was no longer bleeding. “I know, I understand. Just… You’re weirding me out. We’ve been over the whole, ‘your demon side is the side I don’t like’ and it doesn’t help that you’re being like this.”

The demon crossed his arms in a huff like a child and glared at him. “I’m doing my best, alright? I’ve got a lot going on over here and it’s hard using magic to keep tabs on you while dealing with it.”

“Then maybe… I don’t know, like give me a list of the things I need then stop watching me all the time.” He cleared his throat when he realized how harsh that sounded and put his hand up to keep Bill from saying anything. “What I mean is, maybe it would help the situation, and our relationship, if you just let yourself be a bloodthirsty demon in the void and get it all out of your system without me being in the middle of it.”

“So you’re saying we should take a break?” Bill quirked a brow at him and looked as if he were refraining from snarling.

Dipper shrugged and fully sat up so that he was eye to eye with Bill. “Kind of. Not like ‘see other people’ break, but just the kind that gives us both some space. I still have a _lot_ to sort out in my head, and I just think not having you there constantly will help me do that.”

“I can sort your thoughts for you, though.” Bill moved so that he was sitting cross-legged on the bed and snapped, his silky golden robe appearing back on his body. “And how am I supposed to protect you if I can’t see what’s going on?”

“Protect me?” Dipper scoffed. “Bill, nothing bad has happened to me. The other demons don’t seem to give a fuck about me anymore. I don’t know if they’re like plotting or something, but the ones that hate you haven’t bothered me. _You’re_ just mad because you want to keep an eye on Justin- er, Will, or whatever.”

“And if I am?” A tendril wrapped itself around Dipper’s torso and pulled him closer to Bill. “He may not know exactly what he’s doing, but he _does_ know that you are **_taken._ ** That should be enough for him to _back off._ ”

Their noses were touching and Dipper could see the blue glow of Bill’s fire around them, growing as Bill got worked up. It was impossible then to keep his eyes off of Bill’s bright, golden ones, but they weren’t as intimidating as they used to be to him.

“I get it, I really do. But you also don’t need to be hanging over me constantly. I’m an adult and my own person, Bill. You don’t _own_ me.”

Bill blinked and suddenly released Dipper, moving back from him with his nose scrunched in anger. “Fine. I’ll go do my own thing and you do yours. I’ll just keep taking your magic so that you don’t die, leaving you nearly defenseless against other demons. You’ll be free to go throughout your day without me knowing what you’re up to, possibly leaving you to fend for yourself if anyone asks questions. Is that what you want?”

It _would_ suck not having Bill there to help him with some things, but Dipper knew he could manage. If it meant getting Bill to stop being so possessive, then he would at least try it. After all, he had Filly and the others to help him out if he really needed anything.

“Yup. Just until we get your body back.” Dipper challenged his glare and crossed his arms as well, not caring if he pissed the demon off. He wasn’t going to put up with Bill not listening to him and hurting him anymore, and he was going to nip it in the butt this time around.

“If that’s what you want,” Bill sighed.

Dipper was woken up abruptly, lying in his own bed. It was probably around eight and Dipper still felt exhausted, but he could feel that his connection with Bill was cut off. He could mentally picture a list of weird items and where to find them, but other than that, he was alone with all of his usual thoughts.

He pulled himself out of bed and tried to stretch out his stiff joints, shaking off the feeling of Bill’s tendrils. The break would be a good thing, he could feel it. He just needed some time to sort more of his feelings out and determine where he stood with himself and Bill, now that he knew Bill was coming back.

“Mabel?” Dipper rubbed his eyes as he walked into the kitchen, staring in disbelief at his twin, who was sitting very casually and very awake at the table, across from Pacifica. “Can I ask what’s up with-” he lazily motioned his hand between the two of them- “this?”

“Paz and I decided to wake up early and go shopping for some things. And you know me, I won’t ever turn down a shopping date! No matter how early!” She bounced in her chair, her not-normal amount of energy showing through her bright smile.

“If that’s what you wanna do…” Dipper yawned and shuffled to the coffee maker, ready to drink an entire pot of it to help keep himself up. He was sure that Bill made him tired out of spite, but he wasn’t going to let it drag him down for the day. Because of his muscle memory and determination to spite Bill back, it took him less than a minute to get the pot started.

Pacifica flipped her long hair over her shoulder and leaned onto the table. “Why are _you_ up so early?” Her eyes narrowed as if she were challenging him to say something about Bill. Dipper didn’t know why she was so nosy about it, but he wasn’t going to give the blonde the satisfaction of knowing his plans for the day.

“I just need to do some stuff.” He closed his eyes and looked over the list to see what would be the easiest thing to grab first. A red gem, one that wasn’t quite a ruby, stuck out to him, and next to it was the name of a shop he had seen once in the city. It seemed to be that it was mistaken for a ruby and put into a necklace, so he would just have to go buy it and take it out. “You guys going anywhere near a place called…” He looked at the name again then opened his eyes. “Birds Eye Jewelry?”

Mabel gave him an odd look then put her hand on her chin while she thought about her answer. “I think so? Paz, isn’t that by the shoe places you wanted to check out?”

“I’m pretty sure, but I’m no GPS, so I could be wrong.” She kept her eye on Dipper as he walked towards the table. “What do you need there?”

Dipper shrugged. “I…just am thinking of a gift to give Bill when he comes back. He likes flashy things if you haven’t noticed.”

She leaned back in her chair and adjusted her frilly turquoise top. “So, then, are you like asking to come with us? Because I will _not_ be seen in public with you if you’re going to wear _that._ ”

He looked down at himself and deflated in annoyance when he remembered that he was wearing tattered jeans and a plain T-shirt. “Obviously _not._ I’ll go change into the expensive stuff that Bill bought me so that I don’t _shame_ you. _After_ I drink coffee.”

“Whatever, just hurry it up,” she scoffed.

Mabel stood up and bounced as she squealed. “Yay! A day out with my bro-bro and new bestie! This will be a blast!”

~~

Shopping was anything but a blast. For Dipper, at least. Before they even made it anywhere near the store he needed, they stopped at ten different clothing stores, each one fancier than the last. Dipper was tasked with carrying all of the bags between stops, and only got a brief break from them when they stopped at Pacifica’s car.

She had refused to take his, which was fine, hers held more people comfortably anyway, but she had kind of been a bitch about it. Something about her being by Mabel made her testy and tense, and Dipper wasn’t sure just yet as to why that was.

“I think we need to stop at that new cafe for lunch.” Mabel sipped at a drink Pacifica had bought for her, swaying back and forth as she walked, making her knee-length skirt sway around her legs. “I’m craving something with strawberries!”

Dipper laughed and shook his hands. They had just dropped off their last bundle of bags at the car, and his hands were still stinging from the handles biting into his palms. “Actually, we’re pretty close to the place I wanted to check out. Mind if I go then meet you there when I’m done?I won’t be long.”

“Not at all bro-bro! We’ll just be sitting and talking, so you know we could end up being there for a while anyway. Hope you find what you’re looking for!” She gave him a knowing glance before grabbing Pacifica’s hand and trotting off with her, leaving Dipper staring after them.

“ _Yeesh, Pacifica is in a mood,_ ” he laughed. It took him nearly a full minute of silence to remember that Bill wasn’t there. When he realized that he wasn’t going to get a response, he started to walk in the direction of the store.

The sidewalk was a bit crowded, but Dipper was glad for it. His intrusive thoughts weren’t bothering him at the moment, and the people helped hide him from any paparazzi that might be lingering. He did, however, get the feeling that he was being followed.

He grew tense and could feel goosebumps crawl over his skin when he saw a flash of the jacket the camera guy had been wearing the other times he saw him. Without thinking much about it, Dipper followed where he thought the man went, pushing through the crowd.

Nearly a block down the road, he caught a more solid glimpse of the man and saw that it really was him. Large sunglasses covered most of his face, but Dipper recognized the outfit and camera hanging around his neck and started to run to catch up to him. He was determined to at least see his face, and hopefully find out why he was spying on Dipper.

Probably thinking that he would lose Dipper by tucking into an alley, the man turned a corner and stopped, panting. Dipper could hear him mumbling something under his breath, but he couldn’t fully make out what the words were.

“Hey!” Dipper growled to get his attention.

The man’s head whipped around to see Dipper staring at him and he tried to run again but tripped and lost his sunglasses.

When he spun around to see how close Dipper was to catching him, they both stopped and stared at each other for a moment.

“It’s you,” Dipper breathed. “You’re-”

“Yeah, the brother o’ the man you _ate._ I ain’t missin’. I’m huntin’. Huntin’ _you,_ ya pixie fuck.” He picked up the sunglasses and scoffed when he saw that one of the lenses was cracked. “Ain’t had much luck with ye exposin’ yerself, though.”

“Exposing myself? You mean you’ve been following me with a camera in hopes that I’d, what, turn into a monster?” Dipper sucked in a deep breath to try and calm himself after having run the block.

“That’s what ye are!” Scott stomped his foot on the cement, drawing the attention of a few of the people walking passed them. “Yer a freak! ‘Nd I swear I’ll take ya down, no matter how I have ta do it!”

Dipper put his hands up and frowned. “L-look, I don’t know how to explain this to you…” He shook his head. There _was_ no way to try and say sorry for eating someone’s brother. He would have to play another card to get Scott to stop following him. “You’re mom is looking for you. You can at least let her know that you aren’t dead. Maybe talking to her-”

“Just shut up!” Tears were running down his cheeks and he pointed a finger at Dipper. “You have no business gettin’ into my life, so piss off ‘nd take yer sweet talk with ya!” He bolted passed Dipper onto the street again, getting lost in the crowd almost immediately.

Going after him again would be a moot point, so Dipper chose not to. He at least killed two birds with one stone on his side trip, so he was pleased for the time being. He now knew where Scott was, and he knew who was watching him and why. Scott’s threat was concerning, at least a little bit, but Dipper wasn’t going to dwell on it. The guy just looked sad and confused, and he couldn’t blame him. If someone had killed Mabel, he would be just as lost and angry.

He shook the interaction off to deal with later and focused again on getting the stone. The store wasn’t crowded, much to Dipper’s relief, and he was able to get the old woman’s attention without issue.

“Are you sure you want this piece?” The woman asked as she pushed her thick glasses back onto her face. She looked down her pointy nose at him as if she were judging him for his choice.

“Pretty sure this is the one he wants,” Dipper laughed. He tried to give a friendly smile but was met with a scowl.

“Okay. Since it’s for someone, I’ll gift wrap it for you.”

“Oh, n-no-” Dipper was unable to protest to the wrapping before the white-haired woman disappeared through a door with the necklace to put it in a box.

He rolled his eyes and checked his phone while he waited for her to get back. Nothing new was in the news and he didn’t have any messages, so he tucked it back into the pocket of his jeans and leaned against the counter.

“ _I don’t know if you can still hear these, and I’d prefer it if you didn’t respond, but if it makes you feel any better, I do already miss talking to you. I think this break will be good, though._ ”

“Sir,” the lady snapped.

Dipper blinked at looked back at the door that she had gone in and saw that she was holding a few color swatches.

“I have orange, purple, gold, red, or blue wrap. Which would you prefer?”

A smile forced its way onto his lips. “The gold.”

“Alright. I’ll return in a moment.” Her annoyed stare left him again and he waited a little impatiently while she wrapped it up.

She eventually came back and placed it on the counter and rang him up. Four hundred dollars later, Dipper had the small package and left in a hurry, not wanting to stay in the same place as the old woman any longer.

He kept it in his pocket and fiddled with it while he walked to meet up with Mabel and Pacifica at the cafe. Two things down and only a few more to go. Though he wanted to still have plenty of time away from Bill, he would hurry and gather the rest of the things so that he could come back within the month. Maybe the adventure of finding the items would give him time to be himself for a while, and help him get back into a good mindset.

As he entered the cafe, he shook his head to clear his thoughts. He was going to take the time to focus on the present and just sort through things as they came. Right then, he had to focus on surviving the rest of the shopping trip.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Bill got on Dip's nerves right quick. Maybe the break WILL be good for them. We'll see ;D
> 
> Thanks so much for reading, and sorry again about the wait! This is the main story I'm focused on right now, so updates won't be nearly as far apart. Love you guys <3


	9. Losing Battle

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow I suck, I made y'all wait for a while again DX I had real bad writer's block for a while there and a lot of stuff happened in the Personal Life™ so I've been a touch busy.
> 
> Boi howdy this was rough to write, but this chapter is the one before shit starts to go down and it has some good ol' plot in it, so I hope it's worth the wait. Lightly edited because ptbtbtbtbtbttbt to editing. Though I DID cut a part out because it read weird, so this chapter isn't as long as ones from me usually are. RIP. Next chapter for real this time tho will be decently sized because of what happens >w>
> 
> Anyway. Enjoy!~

The sound of feet pattering on the tile flooring in the kitchen roused Dipper from his light rest. Without Bill keeping him asleep at night, he tossed and turned and woke up a few times, only to dejectedly go back to sleep.

It was still early and his mind was fuzzy with sleep, but he knew he should get up. If his alarm hadn’t woken him up for work, that just meant it was likely an hour or so before he  _ really _ needed to get up or he would just fall back asleep and miss the alarm.

He forced some work clothes on, a blue button-up and nice jeans, then ran his hands through his hair. He was going to need a lot of coffee to keep himself from passing out on his desk in the middle of working a smaller case Ford had emailed out. It was an easy case that he would be able to point the finger at the right man from just his desk, but he would still need to be awake for it.

“Wow, you look half decent today,” Pacifica snorted. She was once again seated at the kitchen table, an amused and slightly disgusted look on her face from watching Mabel eat a stack of pancakes covered in a colorful mess of sugar and probably some confetti.

“...And you’re in the kitchen with Mabel at six AM again.” He had no idea how the two of them had the energy to be up and dressed, both with makeup on and looking fairly peppy. Mabel more so than Pacifica, but still.

“She’s going to help me more at the shop!” Mabel sang. “She’s quite handy with sewing!”

“Yeah, my nanny taught me when I was little. It’s fun.” She smiled at Mabel and Dipper narrowed his eyes at them.

He had a sneaking suspicion that Pacifica, billionaire daddy’s girl, didn’t actually think that sewing was fun. “Alright, well, I’m off to work soon.” He looked at the kitchen and realized that he was going to have to make his own breakfast if he was going to eat at home. Being as tired as he was, though, he figured he’d just stop somewhere on the way into work. He would be early anyway.

“Have a good day! Let me know if you need anything.” Mabel jumped up from her seat and pulled Dipper into a bone crushing hug. “Ford told me he’s bringing in something for that missing case today. Call me to come get you if you need me to,” she mumbled in his ear.

“Thanks for the heads up,” he said quietly. “Will do.” He hugged her back then wiggled out of her hold, determined to get a breakfast sandwich before work. “I’ll be out late tonight, so don’t wait up. I’ll text you and let you know if I’ll be around for dinner at all.”

Mabel skipped back over to her pancakes and plopped down in her seat. “Okay. Don’t do anything I wouldn’t do!”

“No promises,” he mumbled as he slipped his shoes on.

The drive-through at the place he went to was busy, but it didn’t deter him from getting food. Instead, he just sat back in the driver’s seat and gave himself some time to feel like a normal person again. He was getting fast food, dressed in his normal work clothes, going to work like he used to do...and he was in a very expensive sports car, about to use a credit card that had a limit of fifty grand on it.

Dipper shook his head and rubbed his face. He couldn’t even  _ pretend _ to be normal anymore. Living with Mabel wasn’t normal, being engaged to a dead demon wasn’t normal, and the fact that he had torn apart and eaten someone was  _ definitely _ not normal.

Finally, the cars in front of him started to move and Dipper focused back on getting breakfast. It took almost twenty minutes to finally get to the window and the lady that took the card gave him a strange look when she read the name, but in the end didn’t say anything about it, which he was glad for.

Going out in public by himself was always something that he was a little afraid of because he never knew who might suddenly be interested in him or Bill, so he liked it best when people either seemed to not know who he was or just ignored the fact.

As dangerous as it was, Dipper ate while he drove because he was hungry and his hashbrown smelled too good not to munch on. By the time he made it to the building he only had his cheap coffee left, which he carried in with a little bit of pep in his step.

The food had woken him up a bit and he was excited to get more of his chores done to bring Bill back. They might not be talking right then, but he missed the demon. If things could just go back to how they were before he died, Dipper would be a happy man.

“Dipper, good to see you this morning,” Ford greeted. “How’re things?”

Dipper shrugged with one shoulder and shuffled to his desk. No one else seemed to be there just yet so he was left alone with Ford for the time being. He wondered if it was a good time to try and bring up that Bill was coming back. First, though, he needed to tell him what he had learned from his side trip while out shopping.

“I have something on the Scott case,” he said as he sat down. “It's actually kind of funny, he's been trying to track  _ me _ down.”

Ford’s face scrunched in confusion and he leaned against a desk. “What? Why would he be trying to track you down?”

Realizing that he hadn't come up with a fake reason, Dipper stiffened and fumbled with his words for a moment. “H-he, uh, he thinks that… Well, he knows about Bill. I guess he found the carnage of what Bill did and thinks that I'm somehow the way to get to him… Or something.”

“So he's trying to kidnap you again? For like a ransom of some sort?” The panic in Ford's voice made Dipper nearly groan and he tried to backtrack to calm his grunkle.

“Well, no, I mean, maybe, but it's not like I have to worry. He's way smaller than me and cried when I almost caught him. Too emotional and sloppy to actually get anything done.”

“Dipper, emotional with a gun equals you bleeding to death on the ground,” he said a little loudly. “Maybe you shouldn't be out much on your own.”

“Ford, really, I'm fine. If anything I'll just have one of Bill's bodyguards come-”

“You mean one of those demons? You really would trust them with your life over one of us?” He moved away from the desk he was leaning on and came to stand in front of Dipper's, his face twisted in anger and concern. “I know  _ I  _ would feel better if you weren't continuing to hang around those things. Bill is out of your life now and they should be too.”

Anger bubbled up in Dipper's chest and he stood up from his chair in a huff. “I can't exactly  _ leave. _ Bill put me in charge of  _ half _ of his stuff, that's not something I can just set down and walk away from. And I  _ can handle myself.  _ I know I went through a rough patch, but I'm more grounded now and can handle this shit. I'm a grown ass man, so if I need to literally deal with demons, I will.”

The front door opening stopped Ford from responding, and Wendy stepped in with wide eyes. “Uh, 'morning. Am I interrupting something? Because I'm totally down to step out and have a smoke if you guys need me to.”

“No, it's fine,” Ford sighed. “Dipper was just telling me that our missing guy isn't missing anymore. We're going to have to tell his mother that he just doesn't want to be found.” His posture relaxed and he took in another deep breath to calm himself. “This information is actually timed perfectly. She's coming in around lunch to check in with things, so I can tell her what we know and ask if she still wants us to keep digging.”

Dipper felt his gut drop and he was sure that he visibly paled. There was no way in  _ Hell _ he could face their mom. He would feel an overwhelming urge to apologize to her, and lord knew he would probably start to hyperventilate.

“I-is she just going to speak with you in your office?”

Ford raised a brow and him. “I told her that all of my people working this case would be present to share what they know. You know the most, so I would think it best-”

“No. No, no. I can't.” He sat back in his chair and tried to ignore the tight feeling growing in his chest. “Grunkle Ford, please don't make me,” he whined. He didn't want his voice to crack, but it did, and the tight feeling in his chest started to grow rapidly until he felt like he had to gasp for air.

How was he supposed to stay calm in front of her? What could he ever say to her to make what he did some level of okay? There wasn’t really anything he  _ could _ say to her.

_ Sorry I killed and ate your son, and sorry my demon fiance did the same to your nephew. _

_ I’m sorry I enjoyed ripping your son apart, I couldn’t help myself. _

“Whoa, Dipper, you okay?” Wendy used a soft voice and rushed over to him to rub his back, silently urging him to slow his breaths. “Ford and I can deal with it if you want. You already told us what you know, we can pass it on. We can lie and say something urgent came up and that you had to skip out.”

He sucked in a deep breath and held it for a moment while he tried to rationalize his thoughts. Ford wouldn't force him to be there, even if he was upset with Dipper. Wendy was there to back him up and help him get over his panic. If he really needed her, Mabel could be there in less than ten minutes to talk it out with him. He didn’t have to face the upset woman.

“Alright, look at you, dude! Calming down and breathing all on your own.” She gave him a couple gentle pats on the back and sat on top of his desk. “We have a while before she’s even going to come around. You can get your mind off of it by working this other case, then you can head out for a lunch break while she’s here. I’ll even text you once she’s gone.”

“Thanks, Wendy,” he said as he exhaled. “I just don’t think I can face her when I’m engaged to the man that killed her son.”

“ _ Were, _ ” Ford corrected. “You were engaged. Bill is gone now and you don’t have to worry about marrying him anymore.”

A heavy silence filled the room and Dipper looked down at his desk. He supposed it was now or never.

“He’s coming back…” he mumbled too quietly for them to hear.

“Dude, don’t mumble,” Wendy laughed. She playfully smacked his arm and nodded at him. “What did you say?”

They both looked at him expectantly and Dipper felt his face grow hot. He had no idea how they were going to react to the news, and he wasn’t about to tell them that he was the one bringing Bill back, but it was only fair to let them know.

With a gulp of air, Dipper closed his eyes and said it louder. “Bill is coming back.” Afraid to open them, Dipper kept his eyes shut and stayed still while he waited for either of them to say something. It was only after Dipper shifted slightly that he heard Ford let out a long sigh.

“And how, might I ask, is he doing that? As far as I know he had his heart ripped out, and I don’t see how any person, or demon, could come back from that. And if he  _ is _ able to, then we have to do what we can to stop it.”

“There, uh, isn't really much we  _ can _ do,” Dipper lied. “It's not something we could physically stop.”

Ford threw his hands up and groaned. “Of course it isn't. How did you even find out about this?”

Making things up as he went wasn't Dipper's strong point right then, but he was hoping he could scrape up something that his grunkle would believe. “It, er, Filly told me. I guess demons can like, t-talk to each other. Or something.”

Both Wendy and Ford stared Dipper down with unimpressed looks, but another sigh from Ford told him that they were going to let it go.

“Well, you're lying, but...you must have good reason to. I hope. You want Bill stopped just as badly as we do. Right? You won't go back to him when he returns and you’ll help us keep him in check?”

If the air was awkward before, it was even more so now. Wendy nervously looked down and played with the button of her black flannel, already probably guessing Dipper's answer from his silence. Ford seemed like he came to the same conclusion, but was much less calm about it.

“Mason Pines, he was an abusive  _ demon, _ you are out of your mind to think that any of us will let you get back with him. He's clearly still got some sort of hold on you. If there's any way we can-”

“We just went over this!” Dipper shouted as he stood up. “I am an adult, I can make my own decisions, and I can be with Bill if I  _ want _ to be!” He huffed and stopped himself from going on a tangent, clenching his fists. “Y’know what, I'm going already. I don't want to do this today. I'll work this other case tomorrow if Wendy hasn't already.”

Neither of them tried to stop him as he stormed back out of the building, but he could sense that they wanted to. They were likely going to talk to each other about how to get Dipper away from Bill and how they might be able to stop him from coming back altogether, despite Dipper just having told them that it wouldn’t work.

Back in his car, Dipper angrily closed the door and crossed his arms. He understood his family’s worry, he really did, but Ford was treating him like a child, and he didn’t appreciate it. Eventually he would get over the Bill thing, once Dipper was able to somehow show that the demon no longer wanted to destroy everything.  _ If _ he was ever able to prove that. Lord knew Bill would play up the world domination thing to everyone still as a joke, or to keep them in check.

He made his way back home, determined to sleep a little more. Waking up early was clearly a mistake, and he didn’t want his bad mood to carry on into later in the day when he would need to go get more of the stuff for Bill.

Mabel had thankfully gone by the time he got back, so he was left in silence to try and fall back asleep. It took quite a bit of tossing and turning, but he eventually managed to find a comfortable position and drifted off into a light nap. It was a dreamless sleep, plagued only by the few times Dipper woke up to move again.

He never bothered to check the time when he would wake up, which he got angry at himself for because when he finally did get up, it was already late in the day, about the time Mabel would be getting home from work.

Dipper scrolled through his phone for a minute trying to wake himself up a little more. A tabloid-like blog had taken a picture of Dipper out with Mabel and Pacifica and joked about how being a Pines meant attracting billionaires. He laughed at it and was going to read another one that seemed to be related to him, but his phone started to buzz and a call from Filly interrupted.

“‘Sup?” He said in a groggy voice.

“Yikes, ya sleepin’, kiddo?” She laughed. “Don’t answer that, I already know the truth. Anyway, I have kind of a...favor to ask you.”

The tone of her voice made Dipper sit up and he gave a concerned look even though she couldn’t see him. “Sure, what’s up?”

“Well, I found my boyfriend. Er, well, I  _ think _ I did. Some of the others that aren’t on our side have been trying to get people close to us to either give them information or flat out turn them against us. Of course, my Jeffy wouldn’t do either of those things, but there are a few that’ve gone missin’ that might.”

“Jeffy?” Dipper snorted. “Jeffery the demon. What a name.”

“You think  _ Bill _ is any better?” She laughed. “Oh, wait, he can hear me. Sorry Bill, your name is  _ very _ menacin’.”

Dipper sighed and plopped back down on the bed. “Actually, we’re on a break. Again. This time it’s me that didn’t want to talk to him, though.”

Filly let out a puff of air and laughed. “You two are so hot and cold.” She moved something that sounded like a stack of papers around then hummed. “Well, anyway, it would be real nice of ya to show your face tonight at a club with me and try to scope out some of the undesirables. That and some of the others are startin’ to say some things…”

“Things such as…?” He ran his hand through his hair and moved to get more comfortable. He really didn’t care much about what the other demons thought about him, but for the sake of looking good while Bill was gone, he knew he’d better listen to Filly and try to make them happy while he had to.

“Well, I’m sure Bill has told ya this before, but they feel better when their leader is just as guilty as they are. You keep your nose pretty clean, Dipper, it freaks ‘em out.”

Bill had mentioned that to Dipper before, but he never thought that the demons would expect him to do the same. “Y-you don’t mean like-?”

“Kid,” she laughed, “I ain’t askin’ ya to eat no one or bathe in the blood of the innocent, I’m just askin’ you to show your face and keep an eye out for anything sketchy. Think ya can do that?”

Dipper moved his phone away from his face to check the time. It was already six, so he had spent the entire day in bed. He’d have to shower and get some coffee if he was going to be out at a club, and he was going to miss out on a day to collect stuff for Bill. “Uh, sure. What time, though? I need to do a few things. And which club, Bill owns like a billion.”

“Awesome! Ten sharp and the one we met at. We’ve done a little remodelin’, though, so some things may be a little different. Just look confident and someone will point you in the right direction. See you then!”

The line disconnected and Dipper let his phone drop onto the bed.

He didn’t really want to socialize, especially not with a bunch of demons, but he knew he didn’t really have much of a choice. Bill would be back soon, and he didn’t need any kind of anarchy before then. It would be too much to handle on top of what was already going on with Ford.

Getting out of bed, Dipper stretched and looked at his door, reluctantly mentally going over the steps he was about to take to go get in the shower.

“If the thought of showering is exhausting, I’m going to have  _ fun _ tonight,” he grumbled to himself. He rubbed his eyes a bit harshly then let his hands fall to his side. He was just going to have to grin and bear it for the sake of not letting everything go to Hell. Literally.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next chapter has GORE HELL YEAH
> 
> Hope you enjoyed. Again, sorry about this story maybe feeling weird. Ever since I've noticed how flawed it is, I've felt very disconnected from it and it's hard to write. BUT I will keep on going and share it with y'all anyway <3 I hope you enjoy this mess and that it's at least a fun ride :)
> 
> Thanks for reading! Comments and kudos much loved <3


	10. Power Stance

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Again, I suck and made you wait Dx If you wanna hear my lame excuse check out the end notes.
> 
> BUT, at least it's here. Edited but loosely, so forgive anything weird/errors. After this, I have a one-shot planned then more updates tomorrow and Sunday ((had to stretch it over the weekend 'cause I had to do stuff)). If you don't follow me on Tumblr, ((My username is the same there, RoboticSpaceCase)) you should if you wanna see when updates are gonna happen/take part in the followers contests I do when I hit milestones. I'm already close to another one so hop on board! <3
> 
> Anyway, content warning: Gore
> 
> Enjoy!~

The wave of nostalgia that hit Dipper when he walked into the club felt so intense that he almost had to walk right back out. It wasn’t even a year ago that he had first stepped foot into the building and yet so much had changed since then. He basically  _ owned _ the place, and that alone was enough to make his head spin.

The annoying fake fog spewing from the stage and the loud music and flashing lights didn’t help either.

However, there was a newness to it like Filly had said there would be, and the music’s beat was fast enough that it helped Dipper lighten up a little. This place had changed his life - whether it had changed for the better or worse was still debatable - but it was still just a club.

The same glass staircase led up to the second floor that seemed to have more seating than before, and when he noticed an actual padlock on the staff door, he couldn’t help but laugh. Bill hadn’t been too keen on letting another Dipper slip into his “chill room”, apparently.

Walking to the back where the doors to the elevator were, Dipper had a small flashback to his first night there, thanks to the smell of some pricey perfume. A woman in a bikini top and shorts that looked more like underwear shimmed next to him, too drunk to really notice he was there. The ones and fives tucked haphazardly into the shorts suggested that she had possibly given a lap dance or two, but Dipper was pretty sure that she was too wasted to even know that for herself.

When he realized that he had been staring at her, Dipper shook his head and blinked a few times. Nostalgic smells always made it hard to pay attention. Luckily no one had seen him gawking, but he still shuffled through the crowd with a red face. 

At the double doors, he was greeted by two large guards, both clearly demons. Their eyes were glowing slightly, something only Dipper noticed because he had actually gotten close enough to see it. From even just a few feet away it looked like the lights were simply reflecting off of their shades.

One of the henchmen glared down at Dipper for what had to have been a solid minute before he reached over and opened the door for him.

“Thanks.” Dipper offered a smile as he passed, but only received unamused looks in return.

The music became a soft thudding sound against the red walls of the elevator and the lights were suddenly all gone, leaving him alone in the dim, copper-smelling box.

Closing his eyes, Dipper focused on changing his body to his demon form. From the looks the guards were giving him and from what Filly had said, he knew that he needed to win the favor of whatever demons were currently in the basement, probably eating people.

He shivered and opened his eyes right as the doors parted. His body had changed and his eyes were able to see in the dark, which was handy because the doors had revealed a dark hallway.

It wasn’t very long at all, but as Dipper walked it felt like it stretched on for forever. Voices were at the end of it, distorted, loud, and occasionally they would laugh in a way that made Dipper feel like he might start to panic.

A little voice in the back of his head - not one that was anything like Bill - reminded him that he had to be strong and act like he owned the place. Which, technically he did, so he was just going to have to remind himself of that over and over. Besides, Filly was going to be in the room with him, it wouldn’t be so bad.

Taking a deep breath, Dipper pushed the door open.

The first thing he noticed was that Filly was, in fact, sitting in the room. Her curvy build laid stretched out on a sofa and she was laughing about something that another demon had just finished telling her. She looked like her demonic self; vibrant orange skin, four bright, solid red eyes.

A few tables and speakers had been added so that the room looked and sounded a bit more like a bar, one that had blood splattered on the concrete walls and extremely poor lighting. The floor still had drains scattered about, collecting all of the spilled blood from the tables, some of which had it flowing like waterfalls over the edges.

Everyone’s conversation died down as soon as the door shut behind him with a loud click.

“Dipper!” Filly sat up excitedly and waved him over.

He sucked in yet another gulp of air before he did his best to stride confidently across the room to her. So many eyes were on him and whatever confidence he had died once he got to the couch and sat down next to Filly. It felt way too much like he was hiding behind her from the others, which was fair he supposed because it was true.

Any kind of demon bullshit he had gone to since Bill’s body died turned into him sitting quietly while Filly did all the talking. He remembered, though, that Bill had mentioned that he didn’t really have to talk at the club, he just had to show up.

“So, how’re things? Ya talkin’ to Bill again yet?”

Dipper shook his head and ran his clawed hand through his hair. It felt weird and he had to repress a shudder. This was the first time in a long time that he willingly changed to look like this and he was starting to remember why he wasn’t really a fan. He had so much energy and power like this, it was almost too much.

“We’re still kind of on a break…” Dipper looked around the room and his uneasy feeling only grew.

Everyone was either staring or whispering about him. Even worse, they were all very clearly not happy with him, even though he looked the part and had shown up.

“Well, s’long as you two make up at some point, it’s alright. No need to worry about it! Relax, for now, this place is a real party if you let it be!” Filly leaned in closer and nudged him with her elbow. “Just act like they’re normal people ‘nd they’ll cozy up to you. Try to do somethin’ that makes you seem less...stiff.”

He looked back out over the demons and gulped. How could he make himself less tense? Blood splattered the walls, pools of the liquid sitting around pairs of deformed feet of demons that had either just eaten or were currently eating some form of raw flesh weren't exactly in his comfort zone.

“Ah...okay. Less stiff. Easy, I can do that.” It was clear in his voice that he was mostly convincing himself and Filly responded by raising her brows at him.

“D’ya need a drink or something to help loosen you up?” She waved her hand at someone near the door before Dipper could answer, sending someone off to get some booze.

Dipper knew he  _ really _ shouldn’t drink, and he had promised Mabel that he wouldn’t, but it didn’t sound like too bad of an idea. If it helped him relax and make friends with the other demons, then it would be worth it. He could explain it to Mabel, she would understand.

A smaller demon dressed in what looked like bondage gear approached Filly with an entire bottle of unmarked alcohol, retracting his blue hand quickly and sneering at Dipper before turning and leaving.

“Yeesh, tough crowd,” Filly laughed. She handed Dipper the bottle of what he could only assume was rum.

“Yeah…” He stared down at the bottle and tapped on the lid of it with his index finger.

Mabel would understand if he let himself get a  _ little _ drunk. It wasn’t like he was doing it out of sadness like before, this time it was to help keep the peace, and Mabel was all about that.

She would understand.

Soon after taking a large swig from the bottle, Dipper realized that he had no idea what kind of alcohol he had just been handed. It wasn’t super harsh so it went down easily, but it didn’t really have any flavor either. Taking another big drink from it, Dipper rolled his shoulders and tried to feel physically less tense.

What could he do to make them like him more? They seemed to like Bill, maybe if he acted more like the blond he’d do okay. He just wasn’t sure he could be that cocky.

“Ya alright? I have ‘em mix drinks then put it into a bottle so that I don’t have’ta keep refilling my glass,” she laughed. “Does it taste alright?” Filly reached for the bottle and Dipper handed it to her while licking his lips.

“Doesn’t really taste like anything.” He waited for her to take a drink then took it back, gulping down even more of the drink. If he was going to even  _ attempt _ to act like Bill, he’d need to be wasted.

Filly loudly smacked her lips. “Huh, you’re right. That usually means it has a shit ton of that shitty mixer in it.”

Again Dipper drank, that time taking several gulps because it didn’t have much alcohol in it. A lot of the demons were still staring at him, their heated gazes make him shift in his seat. He kept wracking his brain to see what he could do to prove himself to them, but all his mind kept telling him to do was drink more.

So he did.

Soon the bottle was empty and Dipper felt a nice buzz, but he knew that he needed to be  _ smashed _ if he were going to try and be the life of the party. He wanted his head to swim and his morals to be loose because that seemed to be how the demons lived.

“Can we maybe get something stronger?” He handed Filly the empty bottle, not missing her slightly worried expression. She knew he wasn’t really supposed to be drinking, and he was sure that Mabel had told her that, but she wasn’t the type to really stop someone from having fun.

“I’ll have ‘em bring something that’s not mixed, ‘kay?” Again she waved her hand, summoning the same stuck up demon as before, that time bringing them a marked bottle of rum.

She acted like she was going to give it to him, but before he could grab it she yanked it back and gave him a stern look, all four of her eyes narrowed at him. “If Mabel asks, I ain’t the one that gave ya this, alright? Don’t be a snitch.”

“Obviously,” he said as he took the bottle.

The drink was smooth but definitely harsher than the one he had had before. It burned his throat and made him visibly cringe, making it hard for him to take more than a couple gulps at a time. He kept drinking, though, ignoring the occasional comments from Filly about how he should start slowing down.

He felt  _ fine. _ In fact, Dipper didn’t even really feel tired anymore, despite how groggy he had felt coming into the club. His head was swimming, sure, but he felt ready to party, should anyone ask him to, which was what he was hoping for because he still didn’t have the guts to start things up himself.

That is until someone said something rude to him.

“What’s it like being Cipher’s pet?” a gray-skinned demon laughed. He was sitting on the other side of Filly, picking at his shark-like teeth with his long, blackened nail, trying to get a piece of bone out from between them. “I can’t tell if he’s got you whipped, or if it’s the other way around!”

A few others joined in laughing, setting Dipper’s drunken brain into a defensive mood.

“Yeah, fuck you, guy” he slurred loudly. “I can’t make that asshole do  _ shit. _ ” Standing, Dipper pointed at the guy while trying to keep himself from falling over. Why did the floor feel like it was swaying so much? There’s no way he had-

Looking down at the bottle, Dipper realized it was  _ empty. _ He’d had the entire bottle and now he was picking a fight with someone. It sounded  _ just _ like something Bill would do.

“Is that right? Isn’t he stuck in the void right now because of you?” The demon squared up with Dipper and glared at him, his pure white eyes looking less threatening to Dipper by the second because of how scrawny the guy was.

Dipper looked at Filly to see how she was reacting to the situation. Her eyes said that she was a little nervous, but she held herself in a nonchalant manner. She was probably seeing how Dipper was going to handle the situation, hoping that he’d prove himself somehow to these other demons.

A sick thought crossed Dipper’s mind, and he started to wonder if he couldn’t just  _ kill _ this demon for saying something rude to him. Bill would probably do that, wouldn’t he?

He decided that he’d start pushing the guy around and see if Filly stopped him. If she stopped him, then he’d quit without a fight. If not, well, then Dipper would do his best to show them that he wasn’t to be fucked with. Hopefully, it would help make it so that he wouldn’t have to come to a club again, too.

“No,” he growled. “He’s stuck in the void ‘cause of those bastards that decided to try and go against him. You think Bill’s some pushover now because of me?” Dipper raised the bottle to hit the other demon with it but decided using a weapon of any kind might make him look weak.

Instead, he smashed it on the ground and pulled some of the magic he knew Bill had tucked away, lighting Bill’s blue fire around the two of them to scare the guy.

“I’ve talked to ‘im since he’s been dead.” He felt a heat rise up in his gut and he tried to remind himself to take it a little easy, seeing as he was still full of alcohol. “I  _ know _ he’s not...not lying down and taking shit. He’s in there fuckin’ killing everything and anything.” Dipper grabbed the demon by the throat and lightly squeezed. “I’m not sure why anyone thinks they can cross his path and get outa it alive.”

The demon grabbed his hand and tried to pull it off, fear -but mostly confusion- evident in his eyes. “H-he’s been different since he got you,” he snapped. “ _ Weak. _ ”

It was unclear to Dipper just what part of him snapped at that comment, but something, probably Bill’s blood, made an actual animalistic snarl leave his lips. “I’ll show you that me bein’ around hasn’t changed him. It’s changed  _ me. _ ”

Killing wasn’t something Dipper ever thought he’d do out of just anger alone. He knew there were other factors -the alcohol, being in his demonic form- but it was still surprising to him when he pinned the other demon to the ground and started to choke him with enough force that he heard the black haired demon’s esophagus make a popping sound.

“Oh, and if you think I’m his  _ pet, _ ” Dipper growled out as he started to dig his claws into the demon’s flesh, “you’re  _ wrong. _ I’m his equal, and I won’t be treated as less anymore!” With his nails deep enough in the other demons neck, Dipper yanked and tore out a large chunk of his throat.

Blood gushed out in dark, thick streams as the demon thrashed his arms and legs, his white eyes now bloodshot. He moved his jaw as if he were trying to speak, but no words came out.

Realizing what he had said, Dipper stopped for a moment and took a deep breath. He was making this too personal. He was taking out his anger towards Bill for not always treating him like his partner, and he needed to keep on the topic of being stronger than the others and show that any kind of lash-outs wouldn’t be tolerated.

If anything it was because he was  _ scared. _ He knew that demons going against Bill would end in them trying to bring on the apocalypse like Bill had originally planned, and he didn’t want that. As ruthless as he was at the moment, Dipper didn’t like or want violence. He just had to show it this one time to make it so it was less likely to happen again.

Tossing the bit of flesh to the floor, Dipper got closer to the demon and bared his teeth, trying to keep his voice steady. His knee sat firmly pressed against the man’s ribs, digging into them so that they would bruise. “If you think we’re going to tolerate any kind of bullshit, you’ve got another thing comin’.” Sinking his nails into the guy’s shoulders, Dipper picked him up and tossed him a few feet away.

He landed near one of the drains in a pool of red, his own blood mixing into it. “P-please,” he croaked out, “I-I didn’t mean-” A wracking cough stopped him and he spat out blood.

Dipper let his fire die down and looked around the room.

Everyone sat in dead silence, watching Dipper’s display of dominance. Even Filly looked a little shocked, though she still didn’t get up to stop him at all.

The amount of blood coming from the demon’s throat made Dipper think that he would be done for, that Dipper had gone past the point of no return, but he remembered that demons heal pretty quickly. Even as he stood over the white-eyed demon, he could see his throat slowly healing, the edges of the torn flesh starting to mend over the visible tendons that had regrown.

“I would never go against Cipher, please!” he wheezed.

Hearing the crack in his voice turned off whatever bloodthirst switch had been flicked on in Dipper’s head. He couldn’t kill someone that was begging for their life. And he wasn’t Bill. As much as he knew he needed to start acting more like the blond, he also knew that he was a leader now, and leaders needed to be respected. Killing this guy over a dumb comment while drunk would earn him fear, not respect.

“I won’t kill you,” Dipper said more calmly. “But the next person that has the balls to say anything like that to my face won’t be so lucky.” Feeling rather pleased with himself, Dipper let the fire go out completely and sat back down next to Filly.

It was a huge mistake, tossing himself down like that so freely because his head started to spin and the high from beating the guy up began to wear off.

“Wow, Dipper, that was really somethin’,” Filly laughed. “Man, you have some get-up to ya! Bill musta seen it in you from day one!” She wrapped her arm around him and leaned in closer, still smiling. “You okay, though? That seemed...not like you,” she whispered.

“Fine, ‘m fine. Drunk, but fine. I think I need to eat to offset the drink,” he mumbled.

She moved away from him and watched as the white-eyed demon made his way to a seat further away from Dipper, his body still violently shaking. “I doubt you wanna eat what I’m going to. Unless maybe you’re cravin’ it?”

Dipper knew he had already pushed his sanity enough for one night, and didn’t want to let himself get too loose by eating someone raw. Though, he  _ was _ alright with taking a smoothie, so long as Filly would agree that it wouldn’t make him look like too much of a wuss about it to the others, despite what he had just done.

“Maybe a smoothie?” he asked, his voice a little hoarse.

Filly made another hand gesture to someone near the door and Dipper laughed at the action.

“Can you summon  _ any _ drink with the wave of your hand?” He shifted in his seat, trying to make himself seem as calm as possible. He didn’t want anyone to think that he was still in some kind of murderous rage because of how tense it had made the atmosphere.

“I can, yeah. Once they get to know you better, you can too. Bill is the only one that can do it with just a look, though.”

Not questioning how the others knew what kind of drink she wanted, Dipper just nodded and checked his phone while he waited. Mabel had texted him twice, asking where we was, to which he responded with, “out with Filly”, hoping that she wouldn’t ask more about it.

The same drink demon as before came back with two tall glasses filled with a red slush, that time not even looking at Dipper. He kept his head down and moved away as soon as the drinks were handed off, walking away quickly.

“You really spooked ‘em,” Filly giggled. “That’s good, though! You did good.”

Dipper dipped his finger in the slushy drink and scooped some out to taste before he drank from the clear, wide straw in it. “Would you have let me kill him?” he asked softly. “I almost did…”

“Absolutely,” she said sternly. “I want you to do what ya think is best to show that ya run this place. If killing some asshole does it for ya, then so be it. I’d only stop ya if I felt like it’d  _ hurt _ your image.”

He nodded slowly and took a drink of the smoothie. It had alcohol in it for sure, but that was alright. As he looked around and saw the human limbs being gnawed on and torn apart, blood covering the demon’s hands and mouths, he was alright with forgetting some of that night or at least making the memories of it fuzzy.

 

~~

 

“I can’t say I’m too shocked, but I’m definitely disappointed,” Mabel sighed as Filly helped Dipper walk to his room.

After the smoothie Dipper basically blacked out and only really remembered laughing at something really hard while rolling around on the couch. He knew that they had stayed at the club until sunrise, Filly wanting to wait until she could carry him out without the other demons seeing how smashed he really was.

“I had t’... It was liquid courage,” Dipper slurred out. He squeezed his eyes shut and look up at his twin, seeing a blond figure standing next to her.

Of course, Pacifica was over again, just in time to see him completely hammered. She wouldn’t let him live this down. Dipper was just glad that he was sober enough to make himself look human again, or he’d have an even madder Mabel on his hands.

“Courage to what, puke on the people at your club?” the blonde scoffed. “You clearly don’t care much about your public image.”

Dipper let out a loud laugh, lazily pointing at her. “Y’think… You think I don’t care, but I did it ‘cause I  _ do. _ Had to put a guy in place! Almost k-killed ‘im.”

Pacifica rolled her eyes, turning away from him and flipping her ponytail over her shoulder. “I don’t see someone like  _ you _ being tough enough to do that, but I’m sure your drunken brain gave the story some spice.”

About to defend himself again, Dipper opened his mouth, only to have Filly slap her hand over it.

“Dipper’s plenty tough,” she defended for him. “But I think it’s time for him to go to bed. Right, Dipper?”

Nodding, Dipper kept his mouth shut and let himself be dragged to bed. He’d sleep off the alcohol and deal with Mabel in the morning. He’d also go get more stuff for Bill since he’d be happy if he never had to go back to that club scene and repeat that again.

The more he remembered it, the more he didn’t like what he had done. His words were  _ too real. _ Being with Bill had changed him so much, and though he liked having the ability to stand up for himself, Dipper was a little scared of the power.

It had led him to eat someone and nearly kill another person who had begged for his life. In his mind, he could clearly see  _ why _ those things came to be and that he shouldn’t be so harsh on himself for the urges that he was still learning to control, but they were still moments he felt ashamed of. Maybe he’d keep tonight from Mabel, just so that she wouldn’t be ashamed too.

Well, more than she already was. He had a lot of apologizing to do to her when he woke up for drinking.

“You goin’ to be okay, kid? You need anything before I go?” Filly huffed when she set him down on his bed, looking more concerned than annoyed.

“You’ve done this for Bill before, right? Carried ‘im home drunk.” Dipper kicked his shoes off and buried his face into his pillow, hoping that the slowly growing nausea would go away.

“I’ve done a lot for Bill,” she laughed. “Probably too much. The prick don’t deserve it much.” She shrugged and pulled her tank top down because it had ridden up her belly from carrying Dipper. “He makes up for it, though. Anyway, I gotta bounce. Lemme know if ya need anything, alright? I’m proud of ya for tonight.”

“Thanks. I will.” He gave a thumbs up then let his hand flop back onto his bed. He was going to -hopefully- sleep until he felt better, then try and be productive. “You’re the best, Filly.”

“I know, hun. I know. Sleep tight.”

With those parting words, she left and Dipper was out like a light, ready to have whatever weird dreams his drunken brain would conjure up.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Lota plot happening in the next chapter. Let's hope I can post it in like maybe a week rather than in a few months lmao
> 
> The reason my updates slowed to a stop is because depression had an almost literal death grip on me, and things got really bad for a while there thanks to a lot of shitty things happening at once. But I'm feeling a lot better now! Hopefully it'll stay that way this time, and I can start being more active now, especially since BillDip has been so alive lately :D
> 
> Anyway, thanks for sticking around despite my lack of updates, I love y'all and I hope you enjoyed this chapter despite it not being my best ^-^' <3


	11. Convenience

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's been a while again, I know, I'm traaash :p
> 
> So, I know because of how this website's rules are set up I'm not allowed to directly mention it, but if you've ever wanted to support my writing, get stuff early, or see content I wouldn't post here, then check out my Tumblr bio ((my username is Roboticspacecase there as well!)) and you'll see what I've set up to do exactly that ;D
> 
> I've been focusing on my writing a lot more lately, and I'm ready to step up and become a content creating machine >:D Without burning myself out, of course :p Writing is what I want to do with my life, so I know I need to start taking it seriously, and if y'all wanted to help be a part of that, it would mean a lot to me :3
> 
> Anyway, this chapter is a segway to kickstart the second half of this plot, so next chapter ((which will definitely not take more than a week! :D)) will be the start of new-ish things >:3c I've edited it, but forgive me if there are still mistakes. One pair of eyes can only catch so much! ^-^'
> 
> ALSO, on that same topic, this plot in my head is a MESS, so hopefully it doesn't read that way. I've kind of already planned to finish this book of this series then go back and re-write because it needs some fixing :p Until then, though, I hope you like what I put out :p
> 
> Enjoy!~

The sun shone brightly over the two girls, reflecting in the lenses on the cameras of all the paparazzi that thought they were being sneaky. Pacifica paid no mind to them, but Mabel would look over at them every time one of the camera’s shutters was loud enough to catch her attention.

“I think the amount of pictures they take is overkill,” she mused, turning back to watch Paz browse a rack full of dresses all more expensive than the last.

“They only use like, two of them in the end. The rest go into an old junk folder on their laptops, I hope.” She grabbed a short, flowy summer dress, the soft blue color making Mabel’s eyes go wide. “Think this’ll look good on me?”

“Yes! That blue is so pretty, I need that fabric! I could make you a cute blouse with it, or even another dress! And, I hope so too. I can’t imagine I look good in all of them. Maybe I should just start making funny faces at them so they only get weird ones.”

Paz laughed the kind of laugh that Mabel found only she could do. It sounded so natural and yet so scripted, almost as if she had been forced to laugh so many times that the faked sound had made it into her genuine one.

“Just like you won’t let me buy your whole wardrobe, I won’t let you  _ make _ mine. I love all of your stuff, but I couldn’t ask you to just make me things. Especially since I  _ know _ you wouldn’t let me pay you for it. Speaking of, though, I will take us out to a dessert place after this if you blow a raspberry at that camera guy by the front of the store.”

Mabel proudly turned on her heels and looked the camera guy right in the eyes, waiting for him to snap another photo. As intense as her stare probably looked, the guy didn’t even blink at it and moved his finger to take another photo, only to have the picture turn into Mabel sticking her tongue out and Paz giving him some lewd gesture the brunette couldn’t see.

That kind of thing was exactly why Mabel had figured Pacifica had kept her around for. The blonde didn’t seem like she was able to do anything too silly without an excuse, and Mabel was her excuse. She didn’t mind that in the least bit though because she was always happy to bring some light into people’s lives.

“What’re you going to do about Dipper?” Pacifica had changed the tone of their conversation as they walked out of the store, the blue dress bought, along with a pair of hoop earrings that, for some reason, cost more than most of the things Mabel owned.

“Blech, I don’t know,” she grumbled while running her hands through her hair. It had gotten messy while they shopped, so she continued to comb her fingers through the pixie cut, happy that short hair was easier to fix in a pinch. Though, she did miss her long hair a little bit. “It did only seem like a one-off thing, and he doesn’t seem like he used it because he’s sad again…”

Pacifica let out a loud sigh, the hand not holding her bag grabbing Mabel’s. “Sweety, why’re you even supporting him like this? I know he’s your twin, but he’s also a full grown man with a billionaire fiance. He shouldn’t be needing to live at your place and fuck up like this.”

Her words hurt, and Mabel would be a bit offended if she didn’t know that Paz was just saying it because she cared. She also didn’t know the entire situation, so really she couldn’t be mad at the blonde for not understanding.

“He and Bill are just needing a break right now, and I fully get why he went through what he did. He thought alcohol would fix things, and now he's mostly learned his lesson from it, and knows that it won't.” She squeezed Paz’s hand, noting how firm the blonde’s grip was.

Mabel wondered if she was also Pacifica’s main form of human contact. Her parents, though Mabel had never met them, didn’t seem like huggy people. Not only that, but Paz was an only child, and didn’t often have friends that let loose like Mabel did, so the brunette didn’t mind holding hands or hugging often. Again, she had no issue giving Pacifica the things she was missing in her life.

“Yeah, but he was  _ pretty  _ drunk last night. Like, he passed out and everything, he’s probably hung over and not even awake yet. It’s  _ noon. _ ” The blonde adjusted her white sunglasses using the hand holding the bag, making her pause for a moment. “All I’m saying is that I just don’t get why he and Bill can’t work out what’s got them split.”

They had arrived at the restaurant and Mabel paused their conversation until they were settled at their table, waiting for the waitress.

The place was surprisingly large for a dessert shop in the city, the walls and tables all decorated in pastel pinks and yellows to make it feel even bigger. It wasn’t too busy either, but it still took the waitress a little while to make it to them, taking orders for the fruit smoothies they both had been craving.

“I think they will get over their issues eventually…” Mabel idly played with the little card that listed off the pies they offered there, deciding after she saw the caramel drizzled chocolate one that she would get that.

Pacifica shook her head and slid the pricey sunglasses up so that Mabel could see her tired but still vibrant blue eyes. “Who fucked up anyway? I’m  _ guessing _ Bill, but Dipper doesn’t seem too innocent either.”

Mabel sat back for a moment and once again ran her hand through her hair, something she needed to stop doing so that it wouldn’t get greasy.

She had been lying for Dipper about the whole demon thing for months now, she already had an idea of what she could tell Paz that matched up with what Dipper had told her. It just always took her a second to form her words so that they didn’t come out jumbled and confusing.

“I believe there is good in everyone,” she started slowly. “That everyone has  _ some _ redeeming quality about them that can help pull them out of being, well, shitty. Bill...he’s got good in him, but it’s underneath a  _ lot _ of shitty stuff. He kind of pulled Dipper into his life and got him involved with that level of shitty, and wasn’t always nice to him. He did some really not cool things... Dipper helped pull the good out of him though, so now he’s gone to try and change himself for him so that Dipper won’t have to go through any more of what Bill put him through.”

Her eyes widened and Pacifica awkwardly propped her head up on her hand, almost as if she were about to rub her cheek. “Bill was abusive?”

The words hit Mabel like a brick.  _ Yes, _ Bill had been extremely abusive to Dipper. He had put him through literal Hell and was awful for it. But Mabel stuck by what she believed and stuck with what Dipper had told her.

Bill was a demon that just didn’t know  _ how _ to do normal human things and clearly didn’t know how to treat a significant other. Dipper had explained to her that the more he was with Bill, the more his human side started to care about him and protect him from his demon side.

As messed up as the situation was, Mabel knew that, with time, Bill  _ would _ be better, and that his and Dipper’s love  _ could _ be okay. He wouldn’t ever be able to make up for the things he had done to him and there would still be parts of it that weren’t healthy, but they both seemed to be in it for the long haul, so she would do what she could to help them get there.

Besides, if Bill didn’t actually own up to his bullshit and start to treat Dipper better, Mabel could always make him pay for it. She had her ways.

“Yeah, he was. I think Dipper turned to alcohol because Bill drank a lot too and it was there for him until I came around.”

“I-I had no idea. I knew Bill was an asshole, but…” She rested her hands in her lap and they were both quiet until the waitress came and dropped off their drinks and took their orders. She sighed heavily when they were alone again. “I feel like a jerk now. Here I thought he was just being a cry baby about Bill maybe not spoiling him or something when really he’s just trying to get out of a bad situation.” She groaned and buried her face in her hands. “I hate that I don’t think sometimes!”

Mabel reached over the table and grabbed her wrist, gently pulling until Paz moved it away from her face and let the brunette hold her hand. “Hey, it’s okay. It wasn’t  _ super _ obvious or anything. Besides, things are getting better even as we speak. Bill cares about Dipper and wants to be better for him.”

A buzz from her pocket made Mabel jump and she dug it out with her free hand. An apology text from Dipper with a heart at the end made her smile while she took a sip of her smoothie.

“I guess I should probably start being nicer to him,” Paz laughed. “I just had no idea…”

“I know, I know,” Mabel soothed. “Dipper is -clearly- a very forgiving person. I highly doubt he’ll hold a grudge.” She sent him back a text telling him to take it easy for the day, ending her message with a heart as well. As mad as she was that he had gone out to drink himself stupid, she understood. “I just hope he doesn’t wake up  _ too _ sick and takes things slow today. Lord knows he doesn’t need any more drama.”

 

*************************************************

 

Dipper had every intention to take Mabel out to breakfast to apologize for getting drunk, but when he woke up, not only was it too late, Pacifica had beaten him to the punch, further proving to Dipper how close the two had gotten in the short time they knew each other.

It took him an hour or so and an entire pot of coffee to feel like he could function normally. He sat at the table waiting for his head to stop pounding, his eyes glazed over as he stared at the wall.

He was  _ so _ fucking tired. If he could go without having to do anything that day, he would, but he knew if he drank and then stayed in bed all day his friends and family would worry that he was slipping back into his depression.

A quick text filled with a simple apology to Mabel helped put him at ease for the time being. She would still be mad, sure, but he could think of something to make up for it and all would be well later. She had stuck with him so far, he doubted she would drop him now for one mistake.

Getting dressed in nice clothes, Dipper decided to go out and look for more of the crap for Bill’s ritual. If he wanted Bill to come back in a reasonable time, he’d have to start getting a move on with it.

The thought of texting Ford or at least Wendy crossed his mind, just to let them know he was doing okay, but he decided against it. He didn’t want to be pulled into a conversation with them right then or have to apologize for the last time he had spoken to them. Not to mention they had probably noticed Justin being weird as well and would question him about  _ that _ situation, yet another thing he just didn’t want to deal with.

After he made sure he looked good enough to be out in public, Dipper walked out into the little hall that led straight to the steps, the other three doors in that particular part of the complex closed, their tenants all out doing daily chores.

Dipper yawned and cringed at the bright sunlight that poured over him as he stepped into the parking lot, happy that his car’s air conditioning was excellent and would help him stay out of the oncoming summer heat.

Someone cleared their throat, the sound making him turn his head. He didn’t see anyone when he looked over the parking lot, so he shrugged it off and got in his car, blasting the cold air before making his way into the city.

For a while, Dipper just drove around, music playing loudly while he did his best not to go over the speed limit during his cruise. It helped him clear his head and wake up a little more. Not to mention it ate up some time between him doing chores for Bill and having to deal with his family, something he still wasn’t looking forward to.

When he came up to another stop, Dipper figured he’d better at least check and see what the next item in the list was. He closed his eyes and focused, letting the image come to mind.

Another plant was what he needed next. One he’d have to drive forever to get, too, so he figured he'd better stop procrastinating and just get on with it.

Changing his route, Dipper turned and started to head out to one of the wooded areas nearby. The drive would take him an hour or so and he knew he’d be exhausted if he didn’t stop to get a pick-up of some sort first, so he found a gas station on the edge of the city to get himself and energy drink.

The Superman blue Lamborghini looked wildly out of place at the dingy little place, especially being the only car there besides the black sedan pulling up just as he got out to first stretch his legs, knowing that if he didn’t they’d cramp up in the middle of his trip.

He looked around the place and thought it was a little weird that anyone else would even be there that time of day since the place really was out of the way from anything else. It sat right in the start of a long stretch of road that led out of town, the street mostly unused since the freeway had been built.

With a shrug, Dipper ignored the car and took a deep breath. He was still so tired, his long yawn making him start to wonder if an energy drink would even help.

“So, you’re heading out of town now? Are ya running from somethin’?”

The familiar, strange accent and high pitched voice made Dipper stiffen and he turned slowly to see none other than one of the main thorns in his side, Scott. Something in his gut told him that he should try to talk him down again, but his tired, easily irritated mind told him to tell the brat to piss off instead.

“I don’t have time for this, go home or something. You know your mom’s still-”

“I know,” he said sternly. A cocky smile spread on his lips, his green eyes still narrowed at Dipper as if the brunet were going to jump at him. “I’ll talk with her when I’m done.”

Dipper threw his arms up and rolled his eyes. “What do you want from me, Scott? An apology? I couldn’t even start to apologize for what happened, but if that’s what you want, then fine. I’m  _ sorry. _ ”

The redhead scoffed, his fists clenching at his side. “I wouldn’t take a sorry from ya even if I thought it were real.” He looked through the slightly grimy window of the store, then back at Dipper. “What I want is something more like revenge, and I got me a friend to help with it. Says he wants you taken out just as bad.”

Dipper gave a confused and somewhat annoyed look. “What? Who? Another, er...person like me?” He kept the use of the word “demon” out of it in case Scott was trying to get some sort of confession out of him or something. Being exposed in some way was the last thing he needed on his already stress-loaded plate.

“Kinda,” he said while digging something out of his inner jacket pockets. “Gave me somethin'  _ real _ special for ya.”

Cautiously, Dipper took a step back and watched Scott closely. “Listen, I really don’t have time for this, whatever you’re about to show me is probably something I don’t care to see anyway.”

Scott just laughed and showed Dipper the small bottle he held in one hand and the knife he held in the other. It looked eerily similar to the knife Dipper had planned to kill Bill with, the only difference being that its blade was pure white.

He wasn’t sure how the Hell this asshole had gotten a hold of a thing that could kill demons, but Dipper wasn’t about to let the guy use it on him. Because he was technically only half, he wasn’t sure what the blade would actually do to him, and that made it even scarier.

Dipper opened his mouth to speak again, hoping to get him to get off his case somehow so that he could get on with his day, but Scott popped open the bottle with his thumb and threw the contents right in Dipper's face.

The liquid burnt his skin and eyes, making him stumble back while trying to wipe it away. It didn’t hurt as bad as he thought it might, something he attributed to being half human.

When he opened his eyes again, the world looked slightly out of focus and he didn’t notice the fist coming at his face until it was too late for him to react.

Scott's punch hit him hard enough to make his head turn and he nearly fell backward, only able to steady himself because he got lucky with his footing.

In his mind, Dipper debated how much he should fight back. He didn’t want to kill this kid, he was just upset and angry, which he had every right to be. He was being a major dick and the punch stung, sure, but Dipper didn’t blame the guy for coming after him. After all, he would do the same if someone hurt Mabel.

Righting himself again, Dipper decided against hitting Scott in any way. The best thing he could do right then was to try to talk him down again and take the non-violent route.

“What will you really gain from killing me? It’s not going to bring him back,” Dipper said as he moved out of the way of another punch. “This’ll only hurt you. You don’t think someone wouldn’t come after you for this?”

Scott laughed, again getting Dipper with what the brunet could only assume at that point was holy water.

If that hurt them, anyway. Bill never did _fully_ explain to him what could and couldn’t hurt demons, so he had no real idea. It could just be acid, which was admittedly pretty hardcore for the redhead.

“ _ I’m _ not the one that’s gonna kill ya.” He lifted his leg and kicked Dipper in the side, knocking him to the ground. “As much as I wish I could, ya pixie fuck.”

Dipper rolled from his side onto his back, ignoring the burning pain on his skin from the insanely hot asphalt. Too many thoughts rolled around in his head, the questions being raised bundling up in the front of his head to create a throbbing headache.

Who else wanted him dead? There were a lot of people, probably, but apparently, this one was hell-bent enough about it that they partnered with Scott to get it done. Was it another demon? He doubted Scott would work with one, but if it meant revenge then it was possible.

Part of him wondered if he should let himself get dragged off to meet this person. He could probably fight them, seeing as he just recently learned that he could beat down another demon if he just got mad enough. Or drunk enough, but he doubted whoever wanted him dead would let him crack open a cold one when he got there.

Despite his situation, Dipper let his bad attitude slip through and tried to correct the redhead. “Again with that name, I’m telling you, it’s  _ fairy, _ not-”

Scott kicked him in the side to cut him off, forcing a groan out of the brunet. “I don’t give a fuck,” he snapped. “And if ya don’t want to be stabbed, I recommend ya not give a fuck either.” He stood over Dipper, grabbing yet another thing from the inside of the jacket that had to be way too hot for the weather.

Dipper decided that, so long as he didn’t feel like he was going to actually die, he’d let himself be taken to this other person. He was too tired to try to fight back right then anyway, and he figured it would be beneficial to learn the face and name of someone who wanted him dead.

The next thing Scott pulled from his jacket was an unlabeled spray can, one that he aimed yet again right at Dipper’s face.

Already sleepy, Dipper knew that if Scott wanted to knock him out, it wouldn’t be hard. He wondered what the person in the gas station must be thinking if they were witnessing this. Were they calling the cops, or thinking something to the effect of, “I don’t get paid enough for this”?

As suspected, the canister was full of something aimed to knock him unconscious, and he let it happen without much of a fight. Dipper knew whoever had teamed up with Scott would want to talk to him a little before they did anything, whether it be to taunt him or try to get at Bill, so he wasn’t all that worried about them killing him while he was out cold.

The only thing he did worry about was how mad Mabel was going to be that he went missing just before an apology was owed. For her sake, he hoped the clerk inside  _ didn’t _ call the cops so she wouldn’t have to hear about this until he was already back home, hopefully laughing the ordeal off.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Dipper has no fucks to give anymore, can you tell? That's my mindset when I'm tired too. "Welp, guess I'll die/get kidnapped" xD
> 
> Anyway, thanks so much for reading! I would appreciate if you left a comment, I love seeing what you guys think! <3


	12. Imbalance

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was meant to go up Saturday but I suck lmao
> 
> Saturdays are when I'm going to try and update this, but we'll see. Might be a day late or so, especially this week. I might have to make a trip up to Idaho to see a dying relative, so it's possible I'll be busy with that.
> 
> No real content warnings other than slight blood.
> 
> Enjoy!~

The pain Dipper woke up to made him wish he had stayed in bed rather than venture out to do chores. His muscles were stiff and the headache had only gotten worse, making the light above him seem much brighter than it was. And, despite having just been out for who knows how long, he didn’t feel any less tired.

It quickly became clear to him that he was tied to a chair, and no matter how hard he fought against the restraints he couldn’t break them. He was stuck in some small, windowless room, the walls and floor both a dark gray that made it seem even more claustrophobic.

He tried to break his arms free again but stopped when a yawn forced its way out. Maybe his capture would be nice and give him some coffee.

Dipper snorted at the thought and let his head fall back, wondering if he should try to talk to Bill again. Hopefully whoever had him locked up wouldn’t be too much for him to handle, but he started to think that it might be wise to at least make sure the demon was aware of the situation.

“ _ Bill? Can you still hear me? _ ”

At first, he thought that he would be completely ignored, but he felt a slight tug in his chest, almost as if Bill didn’t want to talk but still wanted him to know that he was there.

“ _ If you can, then just know I might need help. I know I said I wouldn’t but...Well, whatever, we can talk about that later. _ ”

Muffled shouting from outside of the room startled Dipper and he stared at the door in front of him, waiting a little nervously for whoever was talking to walk in. It could be almost anybody, and he had to prepare himself for whoever -or  _ what _ ever- was going to come through.

Mentally, he went over all of the things he could talk about with the person to stall for time. Depending on how long he had been out, he likely already had people looking for him, so the longer he could hold off fighting the person, the better chance he had of Filly busting in to help.

“It has to be done just right, you can’t just stab him,” an annoyed and familiar voice rang through the door. “I won’t keep my end of this if you don’t keep yours.”

Dipper tilted his head and narrowed his eyes. The voice  _ definitely _ belonged to someone he knew, but  _ who? _ Knowing them would at least give him things to go off of to stall for time. And, if he was lucky, maybe it was some sort of double-cross deal and the person speaking was actually trying to help him.

With how many enemies Bill -and by affiliation Dipper- had, he doubted that the latter was likely.

“Fine, but I’m keepin’ the gear ya gave me. There’s a ton more of those things running around and I want to be able to defend myself.” That was Scott’s voice for sure, Dipper could recognize it anywhere.

“Do as you wish, just don’t step out of line, alright?”

There were some shuffling sounds then a door opened and closed, leaving Dipper in total silence. He wondered if maybe they just didn’t think he’d be awake yet, or if they were purposefully trying to leave him alone as some sort of tactic to get whatever it was they wanted from him.

Either way, Dipper was left alone for a few more hours, only knowing that time had passed because he could see a shrinking shadow under the door. That meant there was at least one window out there, something he would keep in mind in the event that he needed a way out.

When he finally heard footsteps coming towards him, Dipper was half asleep and had to shake his head a little to wake himself up. With bleary eyes, Dipper stared intensely at the door while the lock was slowly undone.

Light far too bright for him to handle poured in, forcing Dipper to turn his head away and cringe. Fresh air replaced the stale air of the room, his lungs forcefully sucking in a deep breath. It smelled of something he knew he recognized, and as soon as he was able to open his eyes enough, he looked to see who had him locked up.

A soft glow surrounded the man, one that made Dipper have to squint while he examined the face, his eyes fighting to widen when he looked into the blond’s eyes.

“Justin? What…?”

“Do not speak to me,” he said in a snotty tone. “I’m mad at you for a lot of reasons right now, and I don’t want to get frustrated before I kill you, seeing as it has to be done very precisely.” He ran a hand through his hair, looking down at the knife he brought in.

It had a white blade like the one Scott had carried, the metal glowing like his skin seemed to be. The thing wasn’t very lengthy, but it looked sharp, sending a panicked chill through Dipper’s body.

In a state of shock, Dipper kept to himself, his eyes going from the blade back to Justin’s face.

“I have to ask, though, did you run away from me because of who I am to Bill, or because you just didn’t like me? I’m guessing it’s because of Bill, but…” He shrugged, closing the door then leaning against it.

Dipper blinked a few times before answering. Justin knowing about him being a demon meant that he had awakened, or whatever it was that Bill said he could do as a blessed soul. What did he say about  _ why _ they became aware of it, though? He couldn’t remember in his sleepy state.

“I...well, you clearly know what I am now, so I was trying to resist, y’know...eating you.”

Justin chuckled and shook his head, his usually styled hair now falling freely at the sides. “Ah, right. You guys do  _ that. _ Well, I suppose it’s good that you didn’t. Another one of us would’ve had to come and do this, and I can’t imagine they’d be as nice as I will be.”

“You call having someone knock me out, drag me here, then locking me in a room and tying me to a chair nice?” Once more he tried loosening his hands, but they stayed put. Whatever rope he had used must’ve been stupid strong, because Dipper was giving it his all.

“Nicer than killing you in a dark alley somewhere,” he said dismissively. He straddled Dipper, his hands holding the knife between them. “Also, you’re sitting in a warded room, all of your demon crap won’t work.”

The blond’s weight on his legs was very uncomfortable and Dipper tried to lean away from him as much as he could. “Okay,” he said slowly, “can I ask  _ why _ I’m here, though? I can’t imagine this is because I made out with you then left.”

Justin rolled his eyes and leaned forward, resting his arms on Dipper’s shoulders. Their faces were less than an inch apart, his warm breath fanning over the brunet’s cheeks. “It’s not because of that, but I can’t promise I won’t get a little payback for that. I always forget how easily human hearts break, and how much it hurts. Having a crush reject you  _ sucks. _ ”

“Yeah,” Dipper agreed. “But, I mean...I probably wouldn’t have rejected you if we met under different circumstances.” He was hoping to get Justin on the subject of relationships to stall for time, also hoping that he might be able to talk the blond out of whatever it was that he was trying to do.

“I’m sure that’s true,” he nodded. “If we weren’t in this fucked up situation, you might not have fucked up. But, again, that isn’t why you’re here. I’m not  _ so _ heartbroken that I’d have you kidnapped and tied up. No, we’re here because I was rudely woken up one night with all of my memories back, screaming because it was too much to take all at once. But, it had to happen because an imbalance in energies is about to occur, and as the closest one to the situation, I get to be the one to fix it.”

He brought the knife between them and showed him the blade, twirling it in his hand. “See this? It’s a special item made to kill you. Well, not  _ you _ specifically, but you get the idea.” Justin brought the tip of it to Dipper’s cheek, dragging it down his face until he reached his chin.

“Well, it’s definitely sharp. Can I ask a second question? Why am I the one you’re trying to kill? There are a lot of demons, why me?” The knife nicked his chin, a small droplet of blood running down his throat. He swallowed thickly and tried to keep his cool, but he could feel he that he had started to sweat. If Bill didn’t come to help and he couldn’t use any magic, he might be shit out of luck until someone came to help.  _ If _ anyone came to help, that is.

Not that he doubted that anyone was looking for him, but if they didn’t come in time, he could very well have the knife lodged into his chest soon.

“You are the imbalance,” he said in a flat tone. “You’re trying to bring Bill back, and he’s too powerful and chaotic to unleash onto this place. If I take you out, it’ll send a message to the others not to attempt what you're doing. And if I do it  _ right, _ I’ll completely wipe you out. Not just send you to the void or the light, but gone completely. Scatter your energy so far that you’ll cease to exist.”

“You’re going to do all that with just a knife?” he laughed nervously. The more the cut started to sting, the more nervous Dipper grew. Justin wasn’t fucking around, and the situation was close to getting out of hand.

“ _ Bill, I know you’re still probably upset with me for telling you to leave, but I’m actually about to die, I need help. _ ”

Another pull in his chest brought Dipper some relief, but it left as quickly as it came when the tip of the knife was pressed against his sternum. He stiffened and narrowed his eyes at Justin.

“Of course not. I have to do some other things, but the knife’s definitely a start.” He shifted and leaned back a bit, his eyes wandering over Dipper’s form.

While he was so close and unable to really look at anything else, Dipper could see exactly how much Justin and Bill looked alike. The styled blond hair, -long at the top, shorter on the sides- the sky-blue eyes, freckles dusted over defined cheekbones and a narrow nose, and his angled, feminine jaw line were all so similar to the demon's. It made Dipper wonder if Bill had copied the body on purpose, or if it simply turned out that way because they were twin souls.

“I’d say I’ll make this painless, but there’s really no way to make obliterating someone painless.” He applied a little more pressure to the knife and Dipper felt it dig into his skin, his entire chest burning from just the small cut.

“ _ Bill, I need you, seriously! Help! _ ”

The mental block between he and Bill opened very suddenly and he could hear the demon laughing as the link reformed.

“ _ You’ve really got yourself in a pickle, Pine Tree! _ ”

Justin pulled the knife down, ripping Dipper’s shirt and cutting the flesh open.

Dipper hissed at the pain and threw his head back, his jaw clenched. “ _ I swear to God, Bill, get me out of this right now. You can taunt me later! _ ”

“Before I got all of my memories back, I used to hate the sight of blood. Now I find it kind of pretty, actually.” He lifted the knife to his face, examining the way the red contrasted the white. “It’s such an interesting color.”

“Apparently getting your memories back made you a psychopath,” Dipper grunted. He looked back at Justin and gritted his teeth, waiting for Bill to do  _ something _ about the situation.

“No, I just like the color. Nothing crazy about liking a color.” His eyes met Dipper’s again and for a moment they stared at each other, neither even blinking as the heavy silence fell on them.

Dipper’s entire torso stung and his breaths were heavy, his legs going numb from having Justin sit on them. He had been in some pretty uncomfortable positions in his life, but he was starting to think that this was the one that took the cake.

“Y’know, I’m not sure how I feel about all of this, honestly. My freshest memories, the ones from this life, are that of a good person who would do no wrong but got his heart broken so he wants to hide and cry and be angry at the world. He wants to be angry at you and make you apologize, but he also understands and supports  _ why _ you did it. Then there’s the rest of me, the side that’s so seasoned and doesn’t care in the least bit.”

“ _ This whiny little bitch, _ ” Bill laughed. “ _ I’m working on getting you out of here, don’t worry, Pine Tree. Just listen to his bitching a little longer. _ ”

“I can’t imagine that’s easy,” Dipper said with half-real empathy. The Justin he knew, as little as he knew of him, anyway, probably wouldn’t want any part of this. Like Dipper, he was just a normal guy that got dragged into some bullshit.

Justin hummed then sighed, his eyes fixating back on the knife. “I’d better not drag this out much longer. The quicker I kill you the less time I have to feel guilty or whatever about it.”

“W-wait!” Dipper cleared his throat to try and hide the crack in his voice. “Is killing me really the only way to do this?”

“Yes,” he scoffed, almost as if Dipper were stupid for thinking there were any other options. “I told you I had to send a message to the others about not bringing Bill back. If I just let you live, they won’t take it seriously.”

“ _ Dipper, I got a way out, but you’re probably not going to like it. _ ”

“ _ Tell me anyway, I’m sure I’ll like it better than being stabbed. _ ”

Bill laughed a little too darkly for Dipper’s liking. “ _ You have to switch places with me. _ ”

“What?” Dipper accidentally asked out loud.

“What do you mean, ‘what’, I think I’ve made myself perfectly clear,” Justin sneered. “You’re just stalling.” He moved the knife back and lifted it above his head, a conflicted look on his face.

“ _ Fine, whatever, just do it now! _ ” Dipper closed his eyes and tensed, readying himself for whatever was about to happen. Either Bill was going to help him, or Justing was going to stab him.

A flash of light knocked Justin off of him and Dipper suddenly felt totally weightless, the stinging pain and numbing legs no longer annoying him. It felt as though he had been thrown back into a pool of water, floating in a dark space while trying to reach out and grab something to ground himself again.

When he tried to open his eyes, he realized that he couldn’t. He couldn’t feel or move anything, in fact.

“ _ Bill? What did you do? _ ”

His eyes opened and blinked a few times, the room now a blurry mess. “You always act like you know what you’re doing,  _ Will. _ But yet again I’ve come out on top, and you can’t do shit about it! Ha!” The voice that left his mouth was his own, but he knew he hadn’t said that.

Justin stood and glared at him, cradling his arm. “ _ Bill, _ ” he spat. “You can’t be here.”

The demon laughed, the sound giving Dipper some of the weirdest chills he had ever had.

That was  _ his _ laugh, but it wasn’t coming from  _ him. _ He wasn’t in control of his own body.  _ Bill _ was. But then where was Dipper?

Though he had no physical form to control, Dipper could still move in another way, one that he could only ever explain as thinking himself into another spot. It was like teleportation, though he imagined that real teleportation wouldn’t make him feel so  _ lost. _

“ _ Bill, this is freaking me out, what’s happening? _ ”

“I can be wherever I wanna be, actually. Not exactly sure why you’ve been summoned to take care of me, but if you don’t want this physical body of yours to  _ break- _ ” He snapped the bindings on Dipper’s wrist then got up, standing over Justin “-then I suggest you let me leave. Live to fight another day, so they say.”

Justin stared at him for what felt like forever then nodded. “This isn’t the end of this. I won’t let you come back and destroy this place, it’s my duty as-”

“Shh, shut up and stop being a drama queen,” Bill groaned. “I don’t care what you’re going to do, I just want to get out of here. I have  _ stuff _ and  _ things _ to attend to.” He pushed Justin out of the way, earning a pained grunt from the blond. “Where’s his phone and stuff? He’s probably got a worried family looking for him.”

“In a bag by the door,” Justin mumbled.

“Fantastic! See you later, bro.” With a lazy wave, Bill opened the door and carelessly trotted out, perfectly navigating to the front of the house he had been locked in, grabbing a baggy filled with Dipper’s dismantled phone and wallet.

“ _ Bill! Answer me, dammit! _ ”

“ _ Sorry, Pine Tree, wanted to get you out of here. I took over your body! Now you’re floating where I was -kind of- and I’m out here! Neat, huh? _ ”

If Dipper had arms to throw up in exasperation, he would’ve done so. “ _ Not neat, actually, this is fucking weird. _ ”

Bill shrugged as he put Dipper’s phone back together, walking down the unknown street like he knew what he was doing. “ _ You’ll be fine. Get used to it for at least a little while, I’m going to use your body to clear up some things and get that ritual ready since you were taking your sweet time to get it done. _ ”

Dipper felt a wave of anger go over him, the emotion a little overwhelming in his new form. “ _ I had stuff come up! I was working on it! And you’d better not keep me here long, this place gives me the fucking creeps, and I don’t want you just running rampant with my face on. _ ”

Multiple texts and missed calls popped up on Dipper’s screen when it came on, the words too fuzzy for Dipper to see through his clouded vision.

“I should call Mabel at least, let her know you’re okay. Pretty sure she’ll strangle me if I don’t, whether I’m in your body or not.”

While Bill worked on dismissing notifications, Dipper took note of what surroundings he could see. It was light out, which meant he had to have been out cold overnight. That had probably given his family way more worry than they deserved, and he could only hope that Bill wouldn’t do too much to freak them out even more.

“ _ Don’t worry, Pine Tree. I’ll keep your body safe. Didn’t you see me use my magic straight through those wards? Nothing is going to bother us right now. _ ”

Dipper did what he assumed was a sigh, trying to relax. He had no idea how to because there were no muscles to relax, but he tried anyway. “ _ Just...don’t do anything too crazy, please? _ ”

Bill laughed, bringing the phone up to his ear as it rang. “ _ No promises, Pine Tree. No promises. _ ”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> BIPPERBIPPERBIPPERBIPPERBIPPER
> 
> Bill is gonna take Dip's body for a spin. We'll see how THAT goes :p Also, this ain't the last we see of Justin. No one punched anyone this time, but we'll get there >:D
> 
> Thanks so much for reading! Comments are my life blood and kudos make my icy heart melt a little, so if you would be so kind as to leave them, it'd be appreciated! <3


	13. Faking Amends

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 'Sup? I suck, I know. Every time I try to set a schedule life throws a brick at my face and tells me to fuck off ¯\\_(ツ)_/¯
> 
> Like rn, my laptop has to be in a special place to even hold a charge, so I can only write in short bursts while it has battery. RIP
> 
> Anyway, here's this. No content warnings on this chapter, but there will be some for the next one. This one is just a bridge chapter so it's mostly talking, sorry ¯\\_(ツ)_/¯ ((Also, if you wanna see these early/get extra content, check out my Tumblr bio ;D))
> 
> Also, if you like this chapter, lmk about it down in that sweet, sweet comment section. Hell, even yell at me if you hate it tbh, it just helps me know that y'all are still here so that I don't feel like I'm throwing this stuff at a wall :p 
> 
> But anyway, I hope you enjoy!~

One of the few things Dipper hadn’t expected from the void was how cold it felt. He had no skin for it to chill but still he somehow the place made him want a jacket or blanket. Everything around him had an emptiness to it that felt like it was pulling at him, trying to steal whatever form of mass he had there.

“ _Bill, where are you going?_ ” Dipper looked back out of his eyes from the darkness behind him, trying to ignore how hollow he felt. The void just _felt_ lonely and distant, despite him knowing that Bill was -in a way- right there with him.

“ _The mansion. That place is probably so un-lived in right now, and I think it’ll be easier to work out of than Star’s place._ ”

Bill had been walking away from the house Justin had kept them and had used his magic to clean Dipper up so that no one would question the blood. When he used it, Dipper could feel it being pulled from him in his new form, almost as if he were the main supply now that Bill had his body.

“ _You should probably try calling her again._ ”

For whatever reason, Mabel didn’t answer her phone when Dipper called and Bill didn’t bother leaving a message, even though Dipper begged him to. She was probably worried sick and Dipper didn’t want her to stress for longer than he had to.

“Hmm, y’know what? Maybe I will stop by the family. Let me call a cab, your body is getting tired from walking. Guess being a depressed alcoholic for a few months will do that to a guy!” Bill laughed.

Anger made Dipper’s immediate surroundings flash a bright red, which in turn caused Bill to flinch and stop walking.

“ _Hey! Joking! You have to be careful up there. You’re holding most of the magic and if you get too wound up and let it out, your body goes splat and we’re both stuck in the void._ ”

Dipper wasn’t exactly sure how to calm down in that form. He felt like he could kind of control his thoughts and feelings, but it was so different compared to what he would do to calm down if he had a body.

After fighting with himself on what “calm” was in that state, he eventually just huffed and focused more on getting a move on things. “ _Whatever, just call a ride before my phone dies. I can’t imagine it has much battery left._ ”

Bill laughed. “Oh, kid, I have to show you how to actually use your magic once things are sorted! We never did get the chance to do a lot with it. I can charge your phone while holding it, it’s fine.”

“ _Now look who’s talking out loud. Someone might hear,_ ” Dipper teased.

Although learning how to use magic excited him, Dipper instead decided to point out Bill’s fuck up and poke fun at the demon. He had put him in an uncomfortable place, he didn’t deserve Dipper’s patience and excitement.

“ _Don’t back-sass me, I’m in your body and can do a lot of things to make your life miserable._ ”

The lack of a joking tone made Dipper back off and he sat quietly while Bill called an Uber. Based off of where they were, he could tell that it would be somewhat of a long ride, so Dipper only piped up near the end to remind Bill to call Mabel, or at least Filly.

“ _No need, Pine Tree. Didn’t you see where I told the guy to go? I have a funny feeling we’re about to meet up with everyone and maybe start a few fights._ ”

“ _Oh, good, just what today needed,_ ” Dipper groaned.

“ _I think so too!_ ”

When the car stopped and Bill got out, Dipper felt an icy chill go through him.

Ford’s office.

“ _Bill, don’t you dare walk in there._ ”

Instead of answering, Bill looked over at the cars parked in front of the small, square building. Mabel, Wendy, Ford, and Filly’s cars were all there, and he could only imagine what kind of yelling fest was going on inside.

“ _For the love of god, Bill, do not._ ”

Ignoring Dipper still, Bill casually walked into the building and up the stairs, ruffling up his hair a bit before putting his hand on the doorknob.

“ _Bill, c’mon you can’t seriously think this is going to go well._ ”

“ _What’s going to happen, hm? Some yelling? Ford isn’t going to shoot you or anything, he doesn’t know that you’d just come back later as a demon like me, so he wouldn’t risk it._ ”

Dipper refused to look when Bill opened the door, flinching when he heard the slight murmur of words turn into abrupt silence.

“I take it you all missed me,” he said smugly.

“ _Bill, don’t act like me. Tell them all right up front it’s you or I’ll-_ ”

“ _Can it, Pine Tree, you can’t threaten me with anything right now! I will tell them, just give me a sec here to get a feel for the room and maybe have some fun!_ ”

The word “fun” would’ve made Dipper cringe if he were able to in that form, and he made himself look out again in time to see Mabel rushing over to him, pulling him into a tight hug.

“Where have you been! When the cops called me after they found your car I- I…” She hugged him tighter and choked back a sob. “I don’t wanna feel like I’ve lost you ever again,” she said softly.

Everything around Dipper flashed a soft blue for a moment, quickly returning to black before he could question Bill about it. The color and timing of it gave him a bit of a hunch on what they meant, though.

“Ah, don’t worry about me! I-” Before Bill could say any more he was being hugged by Filly as well, who in turn was joined by a very hesitant Pacifica.

“Ya big dope, where ya been? Is everythin’ okay?” Filly asked when they all moved away from him. Her eyes narrowed at him when she looked him in the eyes, her face twisting into confusion. “Somethin’s not…”

“Right?” Bill finished for her. He laughed in a way that sounded downright _unnatural_ for Dipper’s voice, causing the others to step back a little more. He looked at Ford, a smile that just _had_ to be hurting his face on his lips.

Ford glared at him, confusion clear in his eyes. “Is...is everything alright, Dipper?”

“Everything’s _great!_ I mean, look at this snazzy meat suit! I’m so _cute_ now.” He stretched his arms out and wiggled his fingers, his nose scrunching in annoyance. “Little small, though.”

“Mabel, I know you’re happy that Dipper’s back or whatever, and I’m...glad he’s okay too, but I think he went out and fried his brain. Like, he sounds super high right now.” Pacifica, being the only person in the room that didn’t know about demons, looked puzzled while a look of anger and understanding washed over everyone else.

Bill paused for a moment, looking at Pacifica while he thought. “ _Ah, right. Blondie here doesn’t know… Hm, this isn’t as fun. I can’t have someone in power like her knowing about me. Not yet, anyway._ ”

While Bill calculated his next move, Dipper watched weird, light purple flashes of color go off around him. Each time Bill’s train of thought changed or when he thought of something new, a different light would go off somewhere around Dipper, almost like he was actually inside of his brain watching the synapses fire.

“ _Get her out of the room somehow, then. In fact, why don’t_ you _just leave?_ ”

“ _No can do, Pinetree. I need the proper audience! I don’t want to repeat myself, so if I can tell them all right now, that’d be ideal._ ”

Pacifica laughed nervously while everyone else just stared, her eyes darting from one face to the next. “I’m not the only one noticing how weird he’s being, right? Like, you guys are noticing that creepy look too?”

“Uh, Paz? L-let’s go grab some coffee.” Mabel grabbed Pacifica by the wrist and tugged her towards the door, sliding around Dipper with a knowing look.

It was difficult to tell if she were mad or not from where Dipper was. Not like Dipper really had any say in what was happening, though. She could be mad at _Bill_ over everything all she wanted, but this time nothing wasn’t Dipper’s fault. If he could’ve gotten away from Justin any other way, he would’ve. In fact, being in the Void while Bill pissed his family off made Dipper almost wish he had just been stabbed.

“We just had-? Ah, okay fine. But we’re talking about this, if you think I’m just going-” Her words were cut off when the door closed, and as soon as Pacifica was gone, Filly slapped Bill.

“Get _out,_ ” she growled. “Get outa him _now._ ”

Dipper thankfully couldn’t feel the slap because by the way Bill recoiled and had to steady himself it looked like it _hurt._

“Yeesh, Filly, relax! This situation’s temporary. I _had_ to do this to save the kid from being chopped up and sent into the realm of non-existence!” He leaned against the door, eyeing Wendy and Ford.

Ford looked angry while Wendy just seemed more concerned, her arms tightly crossed over her chest. Neither was ready to say anything on the subject, keeping the heavy pause in the conversation going until Filly stomped her foot like a child having a fit, her jaw and fists clenched.

“Fine, ya saved him. Now get out! You know what can happen to someone’s body if you stay in there too long.” She grabbed Bill by the shirt and pulled him close, looking him in the eye. “Dipper, if he doesn’t let you out, kick his ass. I’ll kick it too.”

Bill laughed and pushed away from her, turning towards Ford. Yellow lights went off around Dipper while Bill spoke, the blond’s thoughts swimming smoothly around him in the form of colors rather than words. “No need for ass-kicking! I’ll only be in here until I finish doing what I need to. Which is what I’m here to talk about.”

“I don’t want to hear what you have to say, you demon! Get out of my nephew and get out of our lives!” Ford stepped closer to him, glaring down at Bill. “You’ve hurt him enough, don’t you think it’s time to give it a rest? First, you kidnap and abuse him, and now you’ve stolen his body to use it for lord knows what!”

“I didn’t steal it! I saved his life like I’ve _been_ doing this whole time.” Bill stepped away from Ford, keeping his voice level while Dipper screamed internally.

He wasn’t sure what the hell Bill was thinking, but he knew Ford well enough to know that he wasn’t going to put up with the demon being an asshole. Things could go south very quickly and Dipper would rather that he and Ford didn’t fight, especially while Bill was in his body.

“I’ll give it back to him after I bring my own body back. Kinda hard to do that when I can’t touch anything out here.” He walked back by Filly, smiling at her while she glared daggers at him. “But if you were to stop me from using his body,” Bill said slowly, “well, I’d have to stay in it longer and find a different way out.”

Turning on his heels, Bill stared back up at Ford. The taller man looked fully ready to beat the snot out of Bill if he weren’t in Dipper’s body, though Dipper knew if Bill kept pushing his buttons and didn’t at least try to explain some things, his grunkle might not let that hold him back much longer.

“ _Bill, you’d better explain to them that I’m going to be totally fi-_ ”

“And the longer I’m in here,” Bill said curtly, cutting him off, “the more _aggressive_ I get. Might change my mind again about burning this whole fucking place to the ground.” He gave a lazy shrug and his tone softened. Dipper could see the area he was in turn a soft pink for a moment before yellow flashes swallowed it again. “In other words, leave me alone for a while and let me use Dipper’s body, or everything and everyone on this miserable pile of dirt will burn.”

Ford stared at the smiling demon for a long while, Wendy and Filly doing the same. Bill wasn’t bothered by it at all, but Dipper, on the other hand, he was furious.

What the Hell was Bill even trying to pull? Dipper knew him well enough at this point to know that he was lying through his teeth. Any plans the blond had to take over were gone. Sure, getting Ford to leave him alone would probably be for the best. The older man would work himself to death and get in Bill’s way too much, but the demon shouldn’t be using threats. With a guy like Ford, threats could only make things _worse._

“Fine,” Ford spat, much to everyone’s surprise. “I trust Dipper. It’s the reason I sent him to investigate you in the first place, and the reason I haven’t locked him up for his own good yet. He may be losing it a little now that he’s been through whatever the Hell it is that you’ve made him experience, but I know he’s still Dipper.”

Bill’s smile grew wider and he eagerly stuck out his hand. “Glad to have you out of the way! Shake on it? You can brag to your buddies about making a deal with the devil to save the world!” he joked, though no one else laughed.

Rolling his eyes, Ford grabbed the demon’s hand and shook it. Before he let go of it, though, he yanked Bill closer and squeezed his hand. “But if I find out that you hurt my nephew again, I promise you that there will be no force strong enough to stop me from hurting you back, Cipher.”

“Touching,” Bill scoffed as he pulled away. “Anyway, I should be on my way. Now that things are sorted here and you all know our precious asterism isn’t dead in a dumpster in some back alley, I need to get back to work.”

Bill left without another word, Filly following right behind him.

There was no doubt in Dipper’s mind that as soon as the door closed behind them Ford had jumped right back into ways to rid the world of Bill. There was no way he was actually going to sit out, as nice and convincing as his little speech had been.

“I’m not happy with you right now,” Filly grumbled when they got outside. “You’re bein’... _you_ right now, and I can’t wait ‘till you’re the different you. Which is why I’m leavin’ ya be for now. Go do whatever ya need to do then come back to us, okay? I’ll keep on bein’ my amazin’ self and takin’ care of the business end of things ‘till you do.”

“Thank you,” Bill sighed. “You’re a lifesaver, Filly. It’ll give me time to go kick some asses back into place and deliver a few, ‘fuck you’s’ along the way.”

Filly pinched his cheek and snorted. “It’s too hard to take any o’ that seriously when you’ve got a cute face!”

“ _Hey! My face doesn’t make me any less serious!_ ”

Bill swatted her hand away and chuckled at Dipper’s outburst. “He didn’t like that.”

“Love ya, kiddo!” Filly giggled. “I take it ya need a ride?”

“Home would be nice,” Bill nodded, already starting to walk to the passenger side of Filly’s car.

“Can do, boss man!”

As Bill sat down and buckled himself in, Dipper noticed the empty spot that Mabel’s car had been sitting in earlier. It made him wonder what she was telling Pacifica. Was she lying for him again? The two had gotten pretty close, maybe Mabel felt like she could be trusted with the truth, or at least part of it. He just hoped her character judgment wouldn’t lead to any trouble. Dipper had enough annoying blondes in his life, he didn’t need another one.

“ _So, we’re just going to go back to the mansion? And do...what next?_ ” Dipper asked as soon as Filly started driving, well aware of her speeding.

“ _Yup! I’m going to make a few phones calls, regroup, then get my body back. Yours feels weird. No offense._ ”

“ _None taken, I guess?_ ” Dipper sat back for a moment, focusing less on what his eyes saw and more on what was around him. He watched the little lights in Bill’s mind fire off, wanting to reach out and touch them out of curiosity, but refraining out of fear of what it would do. “ _I don’t think I have to repeat myself about the whole, ‘don’t do anything too stupid in my body’, do I? Because I’d like to keep whatever image I have right now, thanks. It seems to be working for me with the other demons._ ”

“ _I hear you loud and clear, Pinetree_.” Bill rolled down his window and the low music playing from Filly’s radio turned up a little, earning Bill a silent, sideways glance from her. “Today’s going to be that start of some good things, Filly,” he said loudly, sticking his arm out the window to feel the wind. “Everyone’s going to remember why I’m on top, even while I’m stuck in my boyfriend’s half-mortal body.”

She laughed and put her window down as well, keeping one hand loosely on the wheel while the other hung out of the car like Bill’s. Dipper was starting to question how she hadn’t been ticketed a million times, magic demon powers or not. “I’m sure that look will have them quakin’ in their boots.”

The two laughed and the space around Dipper turned blue, a hollowing chill accompanying it. Dipper was going to have to learn how to rein Bill in from wherever he was, seeing as his verbal pleas didn’t seem to get through to him very well.

Really Dipper just prayed to whatever there was to pray to at that point that he wouldn’t have to do much from where he was because he had no idea _how_ to do much of anything, that Bill would get his human brain and emotions back quickly, and that they could go back to their version of normal. With how big of a deal that seemed to be for everyone, though, he doubted he would get that anytime soon.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next chapter has gore owo
> 
> Will Ford really stay out of the way?? Who knows. Certainly not I >:3c
> 
> Thanks so much for reading! Comments and kudos always loved! :3 <3


	14. Lights

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sup
> 
> This chapter features: Dipper gettin' brave and touching the lights and Gore™
> 
> So enjoy!~

Seeing the place he got ripped away from just as his mind was starting to call it home felt surreal to Dipper. If he had a physical head, it would be spinning from the amount of weird emotions bubbling up to the surface.

“Ah, good to be back home,” Bill said loudly while standing in the kitchen. “This place seems so empty, don’t you agree? Maybe I’ll throw a big ol’ party when I get my body back.” He ran a hand through his hair and leaned against the counter, the space around Dipper lighting up almost as if Bill were waiting on him to respond in some way.

“ _ Oh, uh, sure. I mean, it’s your house, do what you want. _ ” Dipper couldn’t help but feel a little distracted by some of the memories passing in front of him in what looked like bubbles.

It hadn’t even been all that long since he had gotten himself wrapped up in all of Bill’s demon drama, and yet Dipper felt as though a few years had gone by. He was a completely different person, one that had grown a spine out of necessity. Dipper went from cowering in the kitchen chair Bill was looking at, to confidently sitting in it and eating while he spoke to his soon-to-be husband.

“It’s actually  _ our _ house, Pine Tree. You live here too, y’know.” Bill had started making his way to his room, whistling when he opened the door to find everything in its place and free of dust. “Housekeepers were a good idea. This place is still ready for action!” He jumped on the bed, landing on his back and rolling around on the soft sheets. “Maybe after we do some chores we can come in here and play.”

Bill placed his hands on his chest and started to rub himself, slowly making his way down towards his stomach while chuckling softly. The thought of Bill not only doing errands in his body but also using it for whatever weird, sexual stuff the demon was thinking of didn’t sit well with Dipper.

It wasn’t that he was  _ against _ it, he just didn’t fully trust Bill not to push his body to its limits, and he didn’t want to get it back and be too sore to do much.

“ _ Or, we could wait to do that stuff until you have your body back. Besides, those chores you mentioned seem like they’re probably important, let’s go do those. _ ”

The demon hummed in response, his hands not stopping on their quest to Dipper’s crotch. “But Pine Tree, This way I can feel what you feel. If I know what feels good for you, I can do it when I have my body back. Doesn’t that sound nice?”

Hearing his own voice coming out in such a sultry way made Dipper shiver. It was one thing to talk dirty to your partner, but hearing yourself talk dirty to, well, yourself wasn’t something he was into.

“ _ Can we at least do the errands first? I need time to wrap my head around whatever it is you’re about to do. _ ”

Bill rolled onto his side, a playful pout of his lips. “Fine, we’ll get to that later. I  _ do _ need to check in on a few people and tell them to get ready for my come back.” Standing up, Bill straightened his clothes, then checked himself over in the mirror, fluffing his hair and making sure his teeth were clean.

In the headspace, Dipper could see little, pink lights going off. Again he got the urge to touch them, this time actually getting enough courage to do so.

The second his form came into contact with it, he could hear Bill’s voice as if he were up there with him.

**“** **_-how cute he is. This hair and these cheeks are what did you in, Cipher._ ** **”**

Dipper moved away from the light and quickly realized exactly what it was. Each light was a thought of Bill’s. This is how the blond was reading Dipper’s thoughts when he was in the headspace.

“What’re you doin’ up there, Pine Tree? I feel you poking around,” Bill sang. “I guess it would be unfair to tell you to stay out of my head, but I  _ will _ say you should be careful with what you touch. You might not be able to stomach everything that crosses my mind!”

“ _ Right now I don’t have a stomach, so I think I’ll do as much poking and prodding as I want, thanks. _ ”

For Dipper, this was his chance to really see what made Bill tick. He already had a pretty decent idea of the kind of dark things Bill thought about, so he knew he could handle them if it meant getting the inside scoop on the demon’s thoughts.

“I thought there might be more bruises I needed to heal,” Bill said as he took off Dipper’s shirt. “I know you’re resilient, but damn, Pine Tree. Maybe you  _ do _ use some of your magic, not consciously, of course, but you seem to have made yourself a lot less likely to break any skin or bones.”

“ _ Might be a weird reflex, I dunno. _ ”

Another pink light popped up next to him, Dipper not hesitating in the least bit to touch it.

**“** **_He’s a natural with basic magic, impressive! Not enough to keep himself from getting kidnapped, but still, it’s something._ ** **”**

“ _ I only let myself get nabbed because I didn’t want to kill Scott. I already ate his brother, I think I’ve done enough to that family. _ ”

“Yeah, yeah.” Bill waved his hand at the mirror then fully stripped, tossing the clothes across the room. “Been awhile since I’ve seen you naked,” he purred. “Makes me wanna get back on the bed.”

“ _ No, that’s gross. We both know my body needs a shower. I’ve literally been dragged all over town. _ ”

Instead of arguing like Dipper thought he would, Bill shrugged and made his way into the bathroom, admiring the earthy tones of the spacious room. “Ah, if there’s one thing I miss, it’s soaking in my custom made bath.”

Along the back wall sat the bathtub that looked more like a hot tub, the tub itself made of black and gold marble, while the handles and faucet were made of what looked to be actual gold, though Dipper wasn’t sure that would be very practical.

Oddly enough, Bill didn’t say or really think of much from the time he started the bath to when he finally got to sit in it. The whole room became quiet and even peaceful as soon as Bill shut the water off and sat down, letting the hot water soothe Dipper’s likely sore muscles.

Soon he began to actually wash himself, using the expensive bottles of soaps on the rack that sat perfectly within arms reach on the wall.

“Your body is so tense,” Bill mumbled. “It feels like you haven’t relaxed since-”

“ _ Since I met you, _ ” Dipper sighed. Somehow he felt the effects of the soothing bath, the headspace becoming his own little bubble of warmth and relaxation.

“I was going to say since you were born, but that’s fair too,” he laughed. Setting aside the soaps and yellow loofah, Bill slid down until he was completely under the water, Dipper’s body being the perfect size for the full body soak.

Bill closed his eyes and in the sudden darkness Dipper could see some form of Bill in front of him. It wasn’t anything he could really describe other than he just  _ knew _ Bill was there, looking back at him in their raw forms.

“ _ This is nice, _ ” he hummed, his voice echoing in the headspace. “ _ Been awhile since we’ve had alone time like this. _ ”

“ _ Yeah, it has. _ ” Dipper reached out to Bill, a little surprised to see the demon come towards him so that they were touching. It really had been a long time since they were together in a space that really felt like each of them was there, and despite the few negative emotions Dipper still had towards Bill, he found it comforting.

After all, Bill really had become someone Dipper enjoyed being around after they made it through all of the horrible crap.

“ _ I can’t wait until we’re together physically again. Being out of a human body for so long has made me pretty bitter and hateful again, and as much as I found them repulsive at first, I can’t wait to feel those warm and fuzzy things for you again. _ ”

Dipper laughed, stopping abruptly when he remembered that Bill had laid his body underwater. “ _ That’s nice and all and I’ll get back to that in a second, but I still need to breathe. Don’t drown me. _ ”

“ _ No worries, Pine Tree! You seem to keep forgetting that I have magic. Your body will be fine. _ ”

“ _ Right, okay, good. _ ” Dipper chuckled at himself. He had seen and even used magic more than a few times, why was it so hard for him to wrap his head around it being the norm? “ _ Anyway, warm and fuzzies. It’s honestly kind of funny to me that I made you feel like that. A big, mean, nasty demon with the intentions of burning everything I know and love to the ground feeling lovey towards me. _ ”

“ _ Well, when you put it that way, it sounds hard to believe, yeah. I’ve already told you why I like you, Pine Tree. Your soul is feisty, and I like that. _ ”

Rather than responding, Dipper hummed and let himself soak up the comfort Bill offered. It felt nice to have the warmth he had back just before Bill lost his body. He hadn’t realized how much he missed it thanks to everyone telling him that he didn’t need Bill anymore. Though they were right, Dipper didn’t  _ need _ the demon anymore, but it was sure as Hell nice to have him around.

“ _ I think you’re clean, _ ” Bill said, breaking the silence. “ _ We’ve spent too long in the bath. I will only make one or two stops today before your body will want sleep. _ ”

“ _ I don’t doubt that I’m getting tired. I’m not used to being up and around this much. _ ”

Bill opened his eyes and sat up, taking in a gulp of air. “I can tell,” he grumbled.

Unable to stick his tongue out at the demon, Dipper instead gave him the cold shoulder while he got dressed. Not that much had been said anyway, but Bill had done it to him while in the headspace, so Dipper was more than happy to give him a taste of his own medicine.

“You think they’re going to take me seriously in this body? Your look way too soft. You just  _ had _ to go and shave, didn’t you? Some five o’clock shadow could’ve at least made you look like you gave less of a fuck,” Bill said while looking himself over in the rearview mirror of his yellow car.

“ _ Mabel complains when I have face fuzz and honestly, at this point, I’m more scared of her than I am you. If she says I need to shave, I’m going to shave. _ ”

“She  _ is _ pretty scary,” Bill agreed.

Dipper had no idea where Bill was taking them. As soon as he pulled out of the driveway, he turned down a road Dipper wasn’t familiar with and it made him a little antsy. Not that he didn’t think Bill could take care of himself, especially now that he seemed more confident with coming back and not getting taken out again like he had been before, but he still worried. Bill was in  _ his _ body, so if anything went south, he would be the one paying for it, really.

According to Bill, he’d just come back as a demon anyway, but Dipper wasn’t really sure that he needed that right then. There was too much going on and him disappearing for however long it would take would raise too many questions from Ford. He knew his grunkle would learn about him at some point, but the longer he could push it off, the better because that would likely be the last time he spoke to Dipper.

“Time to make sure  _ this place _ is still in order,” Bill grumbled when he shut off the car.

He had parked in front of a nightclub in a part of town that would make the average person hold on a little tighter to their wallet or purse. The windows had all been blacked out, the bricks poorly painted an inky black. Above the single door to get in sat a neon sign that read,  _ Sinergy. _

“ _ This looks… _ ”

“Stupid? It is.” Stepping out of the car, Bill ran a hand through his hair and sucked in a deep breath. “This happens to be one of the lowest tiers on my nightclub ladder. I let some guy that calls himself Dante run it because he knew the people in the area, but to be honest, he’s shitty and I overheard some talk in the Void about him being one of the shits that doesn’t like me.”

“ _ So, then, we’re here to…? Kill him? Scare him? _ ”

Bill shrugged. “Scare him, then depending on how he reacts, I might kill him. Depends on my mood right that second, to be honest. Never have liked him, but finding a replacement sounds like work, so I might let him live. Dunno yet.”

Unphased by the weird looks Bill got from walking into the place, the demon casually strode over to one of the doors in the back.

One of the lights around Dipper came on, its red color only scaring the brunet off for a second.

“ **_This fucker better be here, if he’s not, I’m going to rip his eyes out and force him to eat them._ ** ”

“ _ Jesus, maybe he had plans. It is still daytime, _ ” Dipper said in defense of the demon. As much as Bill didn’t like him, Dipper didn’t know the guy, so it was hard for him to wish death upon him just yet.

“ _ Don’t care, I pay this asshole too much for him to stay home so close to a weekend. It’s a nightclub for fuck’s sake, the owner should be here to make sure it’s ready for the weekend. _ ”

After a not so gentle knock, Bill swung open the door to the office. Inside sat a short man, his dark hair slicked back on the top, the sides shaved. His pale skin was riddled with odd tattoos, ones that screamed “wannabe gangster” to Dipper.

The man, Dante, stood and gave Bill a nasty look, his teeth bared. “What the fuck do  _ you _ want, little man? Cipher sendin’ his doggy out to do his chores now?” He stepped around his large desk, set up to make him look like some sort of mobster. “The fucker’s dead, man. Let him go. And don’t come barging into my office like you own the place. I’ll be more than happy to teach you a lesson about manners.”

Another red light popped up in front of Dipper and he touched it somewhat eagerly so that he could see Bill’s response to Dante thinking he was Dipper.

“ **_Someone just signed their own death certificate and dug their own grave._ ** ”

“Dead?” Bill smiled, his head tilting like a confused puppy. “I don’t think he is. In fact, I think he’s very much alive. And very much not liking the way you’re threatening his fiancé.” Still smiling, Bill took a single step forward, looking down at Dante. “What kind of manners were you thinking of teaching him, hm?”

“Cipher,” the man sneered, moving back a few steps. “Didn’t think you’d end up possessing your pet. I guess I wouldn’t put it past you, though.”

“Don’t put  _ anything _ past me, Dante.” Bill gave an obvious look around the office, clearly unimpressed by how it looked. “I pay you a  _ lot. _ You’d think this place would look a little...nicer. All I see is a desk, filing cabinet, and…” He forced a fake yawn. “It’s very uninspired. Just like you.”

Dante glared at Bill, his tattoos slowly disappearing as his skin grew darker. The man’s dark eyes turned white and two horns grew from the shaved sides of his head. There was no doubt he knew that Bill was about to kill him.

“I was kind of hoping you wouldn’t put up a fight,” Bill whined. “I have other shit to do. You making me miss them is just going to make me kill you slower.”

“Bring it, Cipher.” Dante’s voice came out gurgled and low, the sound making Dipper tense.

Bill remained unphased, letting out a long sigh as his blue flames swallowed the room. “Your funeral, then. Hope you’re okay with closed casket.”

Dante let out a loud growl, charging forward at Bill with his clawed hands out.

“ _ Are you sure you’ve got this? _ ” Dipper said a bit worriedly.

“ _ Of course, just watch and learn! I’ve got a lot of magic to use. This’ll be a cake walk. _ ”

The second Dante got within arms reach, Bill thrust his hand forward, sending the other demon into the wall behind him.

It broke, the cracks in it growing larger as Bill stepped towards him, his hand still raised to keep the demon pinned to the wall.

“I have more magic than you,” Bill sang. “In this body or mine, I’m strong enough to crush you like an ant.”

Dante growled more and thrashed around, his eyes growing wide. His breathing became panicked when Bill stopped before him, slowly closing his hand to increase the amount of pressure holding Dante in place.

“D-doesn’t matter,” he rasped. “You can’t stamp us all out. I h-hear you’ve got angels on you now too. You’re fu-fucked, Cipher.”

Bill shrugged, letting his hand fall back to his side. Dante dropped to the floor, Bill putting his foot on the demon’s back so that he couldn’t get back up. “Only one and I think I know how to deal with him. Thanks for the concern, though!”

Before Bill did anything else, Dipper took his eyes off the action for a moment to touch another red light that had appeared, enthralled with how easy it was to hear Bill’s thoughts during something like this.

“ **_I’m going to make this fucker hurt!_ ** ” Bill’s thought came through in his demonic voice, not stopping that time when Dipper moved away from the light. “ **_I’m going to paint this office with his blood and pull his tongue out to use as the brush!_ ** ”

“ _ Ew, Bill, please don’t do that. _ ”

“ _ Only exaggerating, Pine Tree, yeesh, let a guy have some fun with his imagination. _ ”

The crunching sound that came from under Bill’s foot made Dipper cringe, realizing that Bill had stepped down hard enough on Dante’s back to break his ribs.

Dante cried out and tried to turn around to fight Bill, but failed miserably. “If you think- think I’m going to beg for mercy, you’re wrong,” he huffed.

“Never said I wanted to hear your voice ever again. In fact, I’m going to make it so I won’t.” Bill moved his foot, only to use it to kick the other demon onto his back. He stood over him again, that time dropping to his knees so that he could reach Dante’s face. “Say ah!”

Before Dante had the chance to do much of anything, Bill had jammed his hand into the other demon’s mouth, his claws dug into his tongue. There was no hesitation when Bill ripped the muscle right out of his mouth, a much too large grin on the demon’s face when Dante started to choke on his own blood.

“What’s the matter? Cat got your tongue!” The maniacal laugh Bill let out when he tossed the tongue across the room gave Dipper the chills.

He still wasn’t used to hearing his own voice sound the way Bill was making it sound and probably never would be as long as the demon was in his body.

Dante still fought under Bill, trying desperately to flip the demon off of him. Bill didn’t even budge, though, the blond enjoying the other’s pain way too much for Dipper’s liking. He wasn’t going to say or do anything to stop him, however. The guy was clearly a thorn in Bill’s side and was one of the demons trying to keep Bill from taking charge again so they could do what he originally wanted to, and Dipper knew it would be best to have any of those demons put down.

Blood spilled from the corners of Dante’s mouth, the thick liquid pooling there because he couldn’t swallow it. The wet choking sounds he made were something Dipper wished he didn’t have to hear. It made him wonder if he could mute the world around him. That would be something he would have to try at another time, unfortunately. He didn’t want to do anything that might accidentally throw Bill off while he was trying to murder someone that would very much turn around and kill him, should he have a moment of weakness.

“I should’ve done this sooner,” Bill hummed as he grabbed Dante by the jaw. “I’ve never really liked you. I only hired you on because you were convenient.” He used his free hand to grab the other demon’s throat, digging his claws into it while slowly dragging them down.

His skin tore easily, revealing the muscle and tendons underneath, which Bill was ecstatic to poke at once a large enough chunk of flesh had been cleared away.

Dante had stopped struggling and his eyes grew dark again, the only sign of life being the twitching muscles still struggling to breathe.

“ _ Are you really going to pull out his muscles and stuff? I think he’s pretty much dead anyway. _ ”

“ _ Awe, is my Pine Tree getting grossed out? _ ”

“ _ A little, _ ” Dipper admitted. “ _ I mean, not much really affects me anymore, but I’m still not a fan of ripping people apart. _ ”

Bill moved his hands away from the dying demon and flicked them to clean off some of the blood. “ _ Alright, I’ll get on with it then. _ ” He leaned back a bit more, pulling his right arm back as if he were going to punch Dante. “ _ Gonna rip his heart out then we’re done here! _ ”

In one swift motion, Bill buried his hand into Dante’s chest. It seemed like it didn’t even take that much effort to get through the bone, something Dipper was actually kind of thankful for. The bloody, broken man in front of him made him feel sick.

One of the nastiest sounds Dipper had ever heard came from Bill pulling the heart from the hole he had punched in Dante’s ribs, the organ still faintly fluttering in his hand.

“Wanna know my favorite part of this?” Bill chuckled.

“ _ Probably not, but I know you’re going to show it to me anyway. _ ”

Bill started to squeeze the heart, tighter and tighter until it burst, blood suddenly gushing out of it, falling between his finger in thick waterfalls. Chunks of the heart fell with the blood when he had fully closed his hand, making the demon laugh. “I love how neat this feels! It’s more satisfying than that putty sand, or whatever the fuck that is.”

“ _ I’m sure it’s wonderful, _ ” Dipper said flatly. “ _ Now can we go home? He’s dead, I need another bath, and I can’t imagine my body isn’t tired from using all of this magic. _ ”

A purple light popped up next to Dipper, making him wonder what each other the colors meant. He would look into that a little later, after he heard the thought.

“ **_I thought he might enjoy this a little more now. I guess I didn’t get him into the whole murder thing as much as I thought I had._ ** ”

“ _ Nope, definitely not into it. Like I said, I don’t mind it as much, but I still don’t want to look at it. _ ”

“No harm there, I suppose,” Bill said as he stood up. He gave the lifeless body one last look, admiring his handiwork. “I do love the flayed throat look, it looks great on shitty people like him,” he laughed.

“ _ I have a feeling you were going to do more with it if I hadn’t stopped you. _ ”

“Oh yeah,  _ lots _ more! I was going to pull out his eyes and shove them down his trachea! It would’ve made for a fun clean up for whoever has to toss this flesh suit in the trash.” Bill looked down at his hands, noticing that they were heavily soaked in blood, the one he crushed the heart with still covered in bits of the organ.

Casually flicking it off, Bill trotted out of the office back into the nightclub, stopping in the middle of the large dancefloor while the staff all started to look his way, their shock apparent. “So, starting today this place is going on a bit of a...break,” he said loudly, clasping his hands together. “At least until I find a replacement for ol’ dipshit. Speaking of which, I’ll send someone over later to clean him up. You’re all free to go home once this place is good to close.”

Not waiting for a response, Bill left. He didn’t seem any kind of interested to hear if they had any complaints about losing their boss, which Dipper guessed he shouldn’t be shocked by.

“ _ Well, that was certainly an experience, _ ” he said when Bill started the car. “ _ And you’re getting blood everywhere. _ ”

“Eh, someone will clean it later. I get these things detailed every so often, so it’s no biggy.” Bill turned on the radio, loud enough to clearly hear the song playing, but not so loud that they couldn’t talk if they wanted to.

Dipper didn’t feel much like talking, though. He didn’t know how or why he felt tired when he didn’t even have a physical body to tire out, but somehow there was still a weight on him, telling him to take a break.

“My sleepy Pine,” Bill said softly after a moment. “I’m trying to drive, you know. Don’t go shutting us down just yet.”

“ _ Sorry. Didn’t know me being tired made you tired too. _ ”

Bill turned the radio down a little, nodding slightly towards the road. “It’s alright. We’re close to home anyway, so you can start winding down. After a bath, I promise we can go right to bed, okay?”

“ _ ‘Kay. _ ”

They didn’t speak again for the rest of the ride, Dipper too busy trying to keep himself from accidentally making Bill fall asleep too. He wasn’t sure how that worked, and he was very curious to find out more about all the things he could do while in the headspace and how it affected Bill, but those could be explored later.

After a hot bath and some sleep, he would make a point to learn all that he could before he would get his body back. He hoped Bill would be willing to share more with him, but even if the demon wasn’t, he would figure it out on his own. Sating his curiosity would help him make the best out of this weird situation, and he’d be damned if he wasn’t going to get  _ something _ out of having his body used by his crazy fiance.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Welp, next chapter will be sinful, so let's hope my slow ass doesn't take seven months to write it lmao
> 
> If you enjoyed this SMASH that like ((kudos)) button and leave a comment that you typed by pressing your face into the keyboard. Or you can leave a coherent thought, both are accepted here.
> 
> Have a great figgin' day, kiddos <3


	15. Falling Into Place

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello! Dang, this thing is almost over. I'll be relieved to have this off my to-do list, but I will miss the story ;w;
> 
> This chapter has sexual content in it ;D
> 
> If y'all want to encourage more of this and more BillDip in general, drop a comment! It's the fastest way to my cold, dead heart <3
> 
> Hope you enjoy!~

By the time Bill had everything nearly ready for the ritual to come back, eight more demons had died from his ruthless “cleansing” rampage. Most of them he killed quickly so that there was less clean-up and more time to do other stuff, however, the others faced a much slower demise when his mood was sour.

Dipper did nothing to stop him, reminding himself that those were demons that still wanted to burn everything to the ground. As shitty as it sounded, he would’ve felt like a bad person if he had tried to stop the murders.

“I’m going to give your body back today so that you can have it before the ritual. So we only have a few more hours to enjoy this,” Bill hummed. The demon hadn’t crawled out of bed yet that morning, scrolling through his phone and skimming any articles that said anything about him.

Any of the gossip threads or stories were about another blonde rich person, though, the name popping up over and over again next to the last name Pines.

“ _ It seems having me out of her hair has given Mabel plenty of time to network with Pacifica. _ ”

Bill snorted, opening a story with a picture of the two holding hands. “I wouldn’t call it networking when they’re clearly fucking,” he laughed.

“ _ Ach, Bill, don’t talk about my twin’s sex life while you have my voice. _ ”

“It’s not  _ that _  weird,” he chuckled, turning over on his back. Bill set the phone on the pillow and stretched out, rubbing his fingers on the soft sheets while giving a soft hum. “Your body feels so small.”

Dipper rolled his eyes, touching the dark pink light that popped up next to him.

“ **_I want to explore this body._ ** ”

It didn’t surprise him that Bill still wanted to get extra friendly with his body. The demon had been hinting at it since their first bath, and Dipper had finally come to terms with it.  “ _ I guess I did say we could do that... And I am a little curious to see what that looks like from up here. _ ”

“Oh, it’ll be  _ fun, _  Pine Tree,” Bill said in a gruff voice while placing his hands on Dipper’s chest. He started to massage the area with his fingertips, smaller pink lights quickly flashing around Dipper as he did so.

As he worked his way down, the lights grew, however, Dipper wasn’t able to touch those ones. He tried multiple times, but each time he just went straight through them.

“ _ Why are these lights different? _ ”

“Dunno,” Bill shrugged. “I told you, I know a lot, but I don’t know  _ everything. _  Some of that stuff is just…” He paused, his hands going flat over Dipper’s stomach. There was no shirt in the way since he hadn’t slept in one, making the action that much more intimate. “For us to explore,” he finished.

“ _ I can...kinda feel this? I don’t feel it physically, but I can still feel that you’re touching me. This is weird. _ ”

Bill dipped his fingers below the waistband of his boxers, licking his lips. “But it’s not bad, right? I’m certainly enjoying it.”

More lights popped up when Bill finally wrapped a hand around his dick. He wasn’t exactly hard yet from having just been rubbed a little, but Bill was determined to change that. Dipper could tell much that without having to touch a light.

“ _ It’s definitely not bad, _ ” he agreed.

The demon gave a few slow pumps of his hand, letting out a huff when the heat of arousal began to work its way through his gut and limbs.

Dipper simply sat and focused on what he was able to “feel”, unsure of what he could do other than observe. Sure, he could dirty talk or share naughty thoughts with Bill to help get things going, but his curiosity won over and he couldn’t help but just watch.

The hand that wasn’t working Dipper’s cock came back to his chest, rubbing the area until it brushed over a nipple. Bill then started to pinch it and roll it between his thumb and index finger, groaning loudly from the pleasant goosebumps rising on his skin.

“I’m going to know more of your sweet spots,” Bill chuckled. “I’ll be more than happy to use them against you.”

“ _ By all means, use them. Just please only use them when we’re in a  _ **_private_ ** _  area. _ ”

“We’ll see,” the blond sang.

A harder pinch of his nipple made Bill cry out, his hips bucking in time with his hand. It wouldn’t be long before his body would be spasming and coming because of the purposeful extra stimulation.

Bill stuck the fingers he was using on the nipple in his mouth, working them over his tongue to cover them in spit before turning on his side and putting his hand between his ass cheeks.

“ _ Really? We’re going to do this? _ ”

“Shut up, you love it,” Bill huffed out.

The first finger slipped in easily, making the demon shutter and the space around Dipper turn a hot pink.

Multiple thoughts swam around him, most being about how much he wanted the second finger already. It was almost shameful to Dipper how easily he was turned on by all of this, but he decided quickly that he didn’t care. Bill was shameless about it, so why shouldn’t he be as well?

“I like your thinking, Pine Tree,” he breathed. “I had n-no idea your body was this  _ sensitive, _  though.” He bit his lip and guided the second finger in, a low moan coming from the back of his throat. “Probably a good thing. I woulda been a lot meaner the first few times we fucked,” he chuckled.

“ _ Yeah, we definitely didn’t need that. _ ” Dipper tried to feel more of what Bill was doing, but all he got were the pinks lights and a faint feeling of being touched.

Somewhere in his being, he could feel that it was a pleasant touch, but there were no direct points of feeling like his body offered.

Between the fingering and jerking off, Dipper’s body didn’t last very long. The boxers Bill had put on were soon dirtied, making the demon laugh.

“We’ll have to build  _ that _  back up.” He pulled his hands out of his underwear and got out of bed to go wash up, the pink lights all dying down to a low glow. “I at least know what those things feel like on your end now.”

Dipper grunted in response, still busy trying to interact with the lights in some way. It ended up being a moot point, and by the time Bill had showered and changed his clothes, Dipper was some sort of exhausted from trying to mess with them.

“You should probably just let it go. Sometimes things just can’t be played with. Besides, curiosity killed the cat, Pine Tree,” Bill said as he checked his phone again.

“ _ Yeah, but satisfaction brought it back. I just wish I could learn more about this stuff before you give my body back. I like to know things, I’m nosy like that. _ ”

“Trust me, I know,” he grumbled. “Anyway, I think it’s time we start to get this show on the road. We need to be in a safe place for me to hop out of your body. And based on the news, your sister isn’t with rich blonde number two.”

Putting Mabel through watching over his body while Bill left it sounded like something his twin wouldn’t appreciate, but at that point, it was either her or Filly, and he had a feeling the other demon was really busy.

“It won’t be so bad,” Bill said finally when they were about halfway to Mabel’s. “Really all it is, is me throwing you to the wheel while I make sure the magic doesn’t boil over from the switch.”

“ _ Will it take long? I can’t imagine Mabel doesn’t have things to do today. _ ”

Bill shrugged as he took a turn, an orange-red light telling Dipper that the blond was annoyed with his short limbs. “Depends on how smoothly you take to your body. Me taking over was really easy, so that might mean you’re not exactly super attached to your body. Just think about how much you wanna touch stuff again and it should be fine.”

Dipper hummed, not knowing how to respond. For Mabel’s sake, he would be sure to take his body back as quickly as possible.

When they arrived, Bill knocked on the door twice rather loudly before just walking in, something that Dipper was sure scared the crap out of Mabel.

“Ding-dong! Your brother and brother-in-law are here!” Bill pulled the door closed behind him, looking around the apartment for any sign of Mabel.

She poked her head out of her room, her nose scrunched at the demon. “Couldn’t send me a text? I’m right in the middle of sewing something for Pacifica!”

“Your girlfriend can wait,” Bill snorted. “Need you to watch the body while I throw it back to Dipper. Make sure no one is around to, y’know, kill him and that it’s Dipper when he wakes up. Not that I’m worried about those things, but at this point, if anything goes wrong I can and will go ballistic.”

Mabel rolled her eyes, gesturing to the couch. “Sit down and wait for me to put my stuff away.”

Bill threw himself onto the couch then laid down, twiddling his thumbs while he waited for Mabel to resurface from her room.

“ _ Are you sure this is going to be a somewhat smooth process? I’d hate to drag Mabel further into my bullshit. _ ”

“It’ll be fine, relax, Pine Tree.”

When Mabel finally came back out, she waved her hand in a “get on with it” motion and sat down on the chair across from him. “I have other things to do today, so let’s do this. And I want my brother back, I have some things I wanna talk to him about.”

“Alright, let’s go to it then.” Bill rubbed his hands together then squeezed his eyes shut, the usual hum of the world around them fading out as he appeared in front of Dipper like he had before in the bath.

“ _ Are you ready? _ ” He asked as he came closer.

“ _ As I’ll ever be. The sooner this is all over, the better. _ ” Dipper reached out to touch Bill, the demon eagerly grabbing his arm and embracing him briefly before Dipper felt like he was being thrown into nothingness.

The sensation of falling made him panic for a moment. He had  _ no idea _  what he was supposed to do. Bill had said to think about how much he wanted to touch things, but he didn’t know how to really want that.

What did wanting a physical form feel like? Could he even imagine such a thing? He had always had one, and only just that morning had he started to miss his body.

He couldn’t even tell what up or down was, how was he supposed to think of touching physical things when there were none around him to think about?

Out of pure hope, Dipper reached out in any direction he could, hoping to connect with something. Anything to make the feeling of endlessly falling stop.

His hand caught something warm and it stopped Dipper cold, slamming him down into the physical world.

At first, he gasped and spasmed, almost as if his body was fighting having him back in it. The warmth holding his hand kept him grounded, though, and when he finally calmed down he looked over to see what it was that had stopped his fall.

“Mabel?” he said softly.

“You looked dead,” she frowned. “I had to come over and make sure you weren’t.”

Dipper sat up suddenly and pulled his twin into a hug, a silent thank you on his lips. He had no idea how he would’ve pulled himself out of that Hell if she hadn’t grabbed his hand.

“You okay? Did everything go alright? It is  _ you,  _ right?” She moved back and looked Dipper in the eye, her lips pulling up into a smile when she saw his expression.

He imagined his natural expression was much different than how Bill had kept it, so it was likely a dead giveaway. “I’m pretty sure everything is fine.” He moved his arms off of Mabel and pressed a hand to his chest, relieved that he was able to feel the fabric of his shirt under his hand.

“Awesome! I’m happy to have ya back, bro-bro!” She jumped from his side and sat back down across from him, placing her hands on her knees. “I have  _ so much _  to catch you up on!”

Leaning back, Dipper ignored the spinning feeling in the back of his head so that he could listen to his twin. It really had felt like forever since they spoke and he was eager to hear what she had to say about what was going on.

“Okay, so first...hm, I guess I should tell you about Ford and stuff. That Justin guy? He’s gone totally missing. No one’s heard anything from him.” She fixed a loose strand of hair, tucking it behind her ear. It had finally grown just long enough for her to do so, and she seemed pleased that it stayed in place while she continued speaking. “That ties into some other bullcrap I’m sure and I don’t know much else about it so that’s all I’ll say on the topic.”

Dipper scoffed, crossing his legs and looking down at his expensive jeans. “He tried to kill me, so I guess good riddance? I’m not sure how to feel about all that, so tell me what else is new.”

She nodded slowly, licking her lips and looking away as if the next thing was hard for her to spit out. “I uh, I’m also...Pacifica and I have gotten kind of close. Like...I didn’t think I was this gay, but here we are.”

“I’m not shocked at all,” he laughed lightly. “Guess we both realized a lot about ourselves because of rich, blond, assholes.”

“You more than me, I think,” she giggled.

They both laughed for a moment and Dipper took the time in the lull of the conversation to see if he could talk to Bill. It felt as though the wall had been put back up, so he only tried twice before shrugging it off. He was probably busy getting things ready for the ritual and just didn’t want to be bothered.

“You’ve been good, though? Like, being locked up in wherever you were wasn’t bad? Bill didn’t seem to ruin your body, so that’s a plus.” Mabel looked him over, meeting his eyes with a worried stare. “What was it even like?”

Dipper shifted in his seat and gave a sloppy shrug. He had no earthly idea how to describe any of what he felt. “I guess just...like I didn’t have a body? I dunno, it was pretty weird at first. I got used to it after a little while, though. There wasn’t anything bad about it, no. Just...weird is all.”

She hummed, placing her index finger on her chin. “Well, I guess as long as it wasn’t bad I won’t have to kick Bill’s ass when he comes back. Which...I also need to tell you something else about Pacifica…” Her eyes darted to the carpet and she sucked her bottom lip in between her teeth.

Having an idea of what she was about to say, Dipper sighed loudly. “You told her, didn’t you?”

“Only a little!” she defended. “It’s just… When Bill showed up in your body he said some weird stuff, and she’s actually really smart and doesn’t let that kind of stuff slide, so she started asking questions and… I cracked.”

“What does she know?” Dipper asked as he sat up to better look at his twin.

Mabel tapped her bare foot on the carpet. “Just that Bill isn’t human. I told her the basics of him being a demon, but I didn’t get into all of the details about how he was going to take over the world. She kind of laughed it off and said she wasn’t even all that shocked because of how he acted.”

“That’s...fine. Probably.” He tried to see again if Bill could hear him or if he had at least heard what Mabel said, but still, the demon ignored him. “Bill doesn’t seem to have anything to say about it, so it’s probably fine. I’m sure if you two get more serious we’d  _ have _  to tell her anyway, so it might as well come out a bit now.”

“My thinking exactly,” she beamed. “So, when is Bill planning on coming back anyway? If he gave you your body back, I’m assuming it’s soon-”

“ _ Tomorrow! _ ” Bill suddenly shouted in Dipper’s mind.

The sound made him flinch and he shook his head to try and right his scrambled thoughts.

“Jesus, Bill, we’ve been over this.  _ Don’t shout, _ ” he grumbled. “He said tomorrow.”

“So soon? Er, well, I guess it  _ has _  been awhile since he died. It’s not so soon when you consider how long ago he died.” She stood and jammed her thumb in the direction of the coffee maker. “In that case, do you want some coffee? We’ll probably need it.”

Dipper nodded and rubbed the side of his head. “ _ Are you really ready to do it tomorrow? _ ”

“ _ Yup! It’s out of the blue and will hopefully buy us time to get it done before others sense it and try to stop it. _ ”

“ _ Try to stop it? _ ” Dipper groaned. “ _ So we have to worry about fighting people off while we deal with bringing you back? _ ”

Bill laughed the kind of maniacal laugh that made Dipper shiver, one that only Bill could pull off so well. “ _ Not to worry, Pine Tree! Filly will know what to do. Go ahead and shoot her a  _ **_brief_ ** _  text about it and everything will be taken care of. She might yell at me when it’s all over, but that’s something I can handle. _ ”

“ _ Alright, if you say so. _ ”

The scent of coffee wafted over to Dipper as he typed out the short text, reminding him that he had a long forty-eight hours ahead of him.

He wanted Bill back, more than he thought he ever would, but it was going to be a long and difficult process, he could just feel it in his bones.

“ _ Stop being such a worry-wart! It’ll be fine. _ ”

Bill’s words were anything but comforting right then. They sounded like one big lie and he just didn’t want to hear it before he had any of the coffee, which he was praying was almost done.

They had Filly taking care of things and he trusted her, but there was only so much even she could do. It made his head spin with all the what-ifs about the next day going horribly wrong, and he had to push it all to the side for then just so he wouldn’t drive himself insane from thinking in bloody circles.

All of that could be faced as it came. He just had to breathe and ignore it until it happened.

“ _ We’ll see. Right now I’ll just be happy about having my body back. _ ”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Drama is next ;D
> 
> Hope y'all enjoyed!
> 
> Kudos and comments MUCH appreciated! <3


	16. Resurrection

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry it took me forever yet again. I've had no WiFi and got a new full-time job so I am an internet-dry tired bitch.
> 
> Anyway, idk what to really say about this chapter mostly because I'm tired lol so here's this. Check out my Tumblr if you ever wanna find out how to get this shizz early ;D
> 
> Enjoy!~

Filly had sent him a text the night before telling him where to meet her, explaining that he shouldn’t tell  _ anyone _ where that location was and that he should even delete the text once he had it memorized.

It frayed his nerves to think about who or what would be coming to try and stop them once they realized that it was happening. The only thing helping him keep his cool was Bill, who was more than happy to chat idly while the brunet drove.

“ _ I think we should have a big wedding when I come back. Y’know, so we can really shove it in people’s faces that we both made it out of this alive. _ ”

“That sounds like too much work,” Dipper huffed. Wherever it was that they were headed, it was too far away for Dipper’s taste. Having just been thrown back into his body left him exhausted and the night before left him too anxious to sleep.

“ _ We’re going to pay people to plan it for us, so we can sit back the entire time and not do a thing. The only time we’ll have to do anything is signing our names or getting our measurements taken. Easy stuff. _ ”

Dipper hummed, his focus mainly on the road while he spoke with Bill. “I don’t know, I kinda want to help plan it. I don’t want something big and flashy, and if I can put the stuff I want into it, I’d be a lot happier with it. I hate boring weddings, and if you hire someone they’ll make it exactly that.”

“ _ Alright, alright. You can have your Barbie dream wedding, _ ” Bill teased.

“I will crash this car into a wall and kill us both. Don’t think I’m not prepared to die at this point,” Dipper scoffed at the demon.

“ _ But we’re so close to being able to fuck again. Well, in our bodies, anyway. _ ”

“Of  _ course _ that’s what you’re worried about,” Dipper chuckled as he shook his head. He wasn’t about to lie and say that he didn’t miss it too, but as he headed to the place that was likely about to become some sort of battleground, sex was the last thing on his mind.

The road Dipper drove on became less and less populated, any traces of civilization leaving as he entered a deep part of the forest. Everything around him was eerily quiet, the trees blocking out most of the light and forcing him to turn on the headlights.

“Is this even the right place? Well, it's creepy, so I guess it would be connected to you, never mind.” Dipper shook his head, trying to stay focused on the road since it had gone from crappy pavement to bumpy dirt. “This car is so not made for this.Why couldn't you buy like, Jeeps or something useful?”

Bill scoffed. “ _ We can get one when I'm back, soccer mom. Yeesh, hop off my dick Pine Tree. Or, rather, you should hop on it once I have it back. It would do us both some good to let the stress out, it seems. _ ”

“Sorry, I'm just nervous. Who knows what'll show up from us doing this? I'd rather not have to stab anyone while I'm trying to un-stab you.” Dipper turned down a side road, stopping the car when he couldn't drive any further. “At least this is pretty tucked away.” Filly's car was there too, probably having been sitting there for a few hours. She had said something about making sure everything was perfect, and he didn't know how she could do that when Dipper was the one with all of the stuff Bill had said he needed to gather.

“ _ I wasn't stabbed. Well, not with a knife. Do hands count if they puncture the skin? Probably. Anyway Pine Tree, I'm getting antsy. The building is hidden, so just walk until you smack into something. _ ”

Dipper rolled his eyes at Bill, grabbing the bag filled with trinkets he and Bill collected. The demon had told him to give it all to Filly, and that she would understand what it all was for, but Dipper wasn’t convinced that any of it really did much of anything. Hell, he wouldn’t be shocked to find out that Bill had made that part up to buy himself some time and make Dipper feel like he was helping.

“ _ Nonsense, I need at least three of those things. So, no, not entirely made up. _ ”

“Right, you can read my thoughts,” Dipper grumbled as he made his way through the trees. “You putting me on a wild goose chase is grounds for divorce, so I hope you like being married for about a day before I leave you and take half of all your stuff,” he joked weakly. He was too distracted to put any energy into it.

Holding his hand out in front of him, Dipper stepped carefully over rocks and around trees, hoping that he would find the building soon. He felt like he was being watched out there and he had enough of that already in his life.

Thankfully, his hand smacked right into something hard and not a moment after, he could suddenly see a surprisingly well-kept warehouse. It wasn’t as big as he thought it would be, but he was actually glad for that. It meant he wouldn’t be getting lost as easily.

“ _ I’ll tell you where to go, don’t worry so much about it. The only stuff you have to worry about is after you get the ritual started. _ ”

“What? Why? What’s going to happen?” Dipper’s tone was more exhausted than angry. He just wanted this to be over with so that he could go home and take a nap.

“ _ People are going to feel the shift and come towards the source of power. Happened the first time I came to this place, so I have no doubts that it’ll happen again this time. My lovely brother might even pay us a visit. Make sure no one gets in the place. Filly will mostly be doing that because I kind of need to use your body for a second, but after that, you have to go and help out as much as you can. _ ”

While Bill spoke, Dipper made his way to the only door he saw that wasn’t heavily locked up. It opened effortlessly and almost immediately he was met with Filly, who looked relieved to see that it was just Dipper.

“Ya couldn’t drive a  _ little _ faster, kid?” she laughed. “Hand over the bag, I gotta wrap this up. Go up those stairs over there and wait in the room. You’ll know which one it is.” She gestured to a pair of stairs in the back of the large, open and empty room, then turned away and walked to a door near the back of it once Dipper gave a nod and handed her the bag.

“ _ This is kinda weird, _ ” Dipper said to Bill as he walked up the stairs. “ _ Does Filly really know what she’s doing? _ ”

Bill laughed, the sound echoing loudly in Dipper’s head. “ _ She always knows what she’s doing. And if she doesn’t, I explain things to her. She has some of my magic too, y’know. I can kind of get through to her to talk if I focus real hard. _ ”

Dipper shook his head at Bill, too tired to really be up for asking questions about how all of that worked. It could wait for another day.

At the top of the stairs, Dipper was met with only one door and he would’ve laughed at Filly’s “you’ll know which one” comment if he had the energy. He was feeling more and more drained as he went on, hoping he could even stay up through all of this.

“ _ That’s my fault. I’m just pulling magic from you so that I can make the leap. It’ll stop bugging you after I’m out. _ ”

Without really acknowledging Bill, Dipper opened the door, not shocked to see the demon’s body laid out on a table, the wounds covered but the memory of a hand sticking out of his chest not soon forgotten.

“Creepy. How is your body not like, gross?” Dipper went and sat in the lone chair next to the table, not daring to touch Bill’s dead body.

“ _ Magic, duh, _ ” Bill chuckled. “ _ I still have a connection to this body, so I’ve kept it kinda frozen in time. Neato, huh? _ ”

“Real neato,” Dipper agreed. He slumped forward in his chair, not really noticing or caring when Filly walked in and started to do something with Bill’s body. It looked like she was carrying a bottle of something, not that Dipper cared to see what it was right then, and after a moment, she turned to him with a serious look on her face.

“I’m gonna be outside. Stay here with Bill ‘til he tells you to leave, alright?” She kept her eyes on his, not letting him look away until he gave her another nod. “Good. Do what Bill tells ya to do and we should be fine.” With a quick smile, Filly headed out of the room, tying her hair into its usual, neat bun as she walked.

As soon as the door closed, Dipper leaned over and had to fight to keep his eyes open. “Am I even going to be awake for this? How much are you taking? I feel ready to pass out.”

Bill didn't answer and Dipper could only feel himself getting dizzier and dizzier. The world swayed underneath him and he groaned, his head feeling like someone had taken a hammer to it. Something was going on around him, lights and shouting, but he couldn't bring himself to look up and see what it all was, his vision growing dark as whatever it was continued on. He could only hope that it was something to do with this all being over with soon.

Time briefly stopped for Dipper as he went completely lax in his chair with his eyes closed. It was all too much and his body needed the break. Nothing else mattered and until his eyes were opening again, he didn't even think he was alive anymore. It had been the strangest feeling, but he brushed it off and looked around him, hoping that Bill would be up and ready to answer some of his questions.

The blond still lay motionless on the table, his body looking much more lively and pink in the cheeks than it had before, a good sign, but not what Dipper really wanted to see. With a large sigh, he forced his legs to work and stood, waiting by Bill's side until he heard a very faint, almost  _ too _ faint, voice tell him to go.

Which meant he had to go and face whatever was going on outside.

Another sigh and he was leaving the room, looking back at Bill one last time before using his slowly replenishing energy to bound down the stairs and outside where the shouting was at. The second he stepped out of the door, a large, light blue ball of  _ something _ flew right in front of his face and he had to pause, looking in the direction it came from.

“You can't  _ do _ this! He's just going to destroy everything!”

Justin.

Or, Will. Dipper wasn't sure what to call him anymore, but regardless, he was there, fighting with Filly. She seemed to have him handled, but Dipper had come out at just the right time. Other demons were there, ready to fight and coming straight at him.

Dipper forced himself to change, the alien feeling making him shiver. It didn't stop him from using his magic, though, blue flames acting as a wall through the trees to buy him some time. Whatever Bill was doing, he had to do it fast. Dipper was still getting his strength back and he felt weirdly empty now, so he was in no real position to fight. Especially against three other people.

One of the demons broke through his wall of fire, their green eyes viciously angry. They charged at him and Dipper luckily fell out of the way, but his legs were still a little shaky so he didn't allow himself to fully fall in fear of not being able to get back up.

He threw himself at them, tackling them and knowing that he had to take out the demon right away because there were just more behind it. Bill had told him not to let them get into the building and he didn’t want to have to go through any more bullshit to get him back, so out of the building they would stay.

With probably more force than was needed, Dipper shoved his hand into the demon’s chest, crushing their heart quickly before pulling his hand free and burning the blood on it away with the blue flames that were only growing stronger as his strength returned.

Bill had likely taken most of his magic for the switch but was now feeding the extra back to him as he finished doing whatever the Hell it was that he was doing. Dipper could feel that whatever it was, was actually working though, and that alone was a huge relief and helped push him to fight for just a little longer.

The demons wouldn’t have much reason to fight once Bill was back, and he had a good feeling that with Dipper, Bill, and Filly there, the demons would back off if Dipper hadn’t already killed them all yet.

Justin, however, was another problem.

He and Filly were fighting intensely enough off to the side that Dipper could hear them knocking down the thick oaks every so often, and he hoped that none of them fell his direction. He really didn’t need the distraction or the mess.

Four more demons stood before him, making it through his wall of flames without much issue. Out of quick and desperate thinking, Dipper grabbed one of them by the wrist, picking them up and swinging them right into the others to watch them fall like bowling pins. Having the strength to actually do something like that was a bit of a surprise because he forgot that he even had it. There would be no complaining on his end, though.

They all fell with pained grunts, their odd bodies a mess of extra limbs, wings, and tails. Seeing those always made Dipper think how they could possibly look human after changing into something like that, but those thoughts were pushed aside as they stood and growled at him, backing him against the building.

Dipper had been in fights before -  _ plenty _ of fights - but that didn’t mean he was any good in one. He had no idea what to do next and knew that he couldn’t take them all. Filly was still busy with Justin, someone who was no doubt more difficult to fight because of what he was, so he was on his own for the time being.

Another one of them, one that didn’t look too unlike a demon he had seen at a club before, came at him before the others did, and he was barely able to put his arms up in defense before they slashed at him.

He let out a pained groan, hoping that the wounds would heal quicker with magic. There was still a lot he didn’t know about it, and using it to heal could prove to be difficult, but he was going to try for the sake of keeping himself on his feet.

“Let Cipher  _ stay _ dead! He’s  _ weak! _ He can’t lead us!” One of the demons spoke, their voice rough and unholy. It didn’t phase Dipper, but the sound certainly sent chills down his spine.

“I don’t care what he is, he’s my boyfriend and I’m sick of him being dead and in my head, so fuck off!” Dipper put up another wall of flames, watching the dance wildly in front of him as it burned right up from under their feet. It was odd, sometimes his fire burned things, and sometimes it didn’t. This time, it definitely burned.

Their screams echoed through the trees and they all tried to run and roll around to put themselves out, but Dipper’s flames persisted and continued to burn them no matter what they did.

Dipper figured that would be the end of it, that Filly would end up taking out Justin not long after. As it turned out, he was wrong, as he often seemed to be these days.

Filly had been tossed against a tree with enough force to break it. She fell with it and Justin moved to attack her again, Dipper just then noticing the blinding light blue, almost white lights behind him that looked like wings.

They were so distracting that he almost didn’t move to help, but Filly was in danger and he knew he had to help. In less than a second, Dipper was moving and some part of him just knew to aim his fire at Justin’s wings.

Justin looked over in his direction, conflicted emotions flying over his face before he charged at Dipper.

Not knowing how strong Justin was, Dipper put everything he had into his attack, running at the blond as fast as his feet would carry him. Energy built up in his chest and he could feel his fire burning hot around him, Justin’s light so bright that he had to close his eyes, just waiting for the impact that never came.

Well, it  _ had _ , but not with Justin. Instead, Dipper slammed into an invisible wall, Justin seeming to do the same thing. The resounding  _ crack _ that came from it silenced everything around them, birds flying from the trees and the cries of the burning demons coming to an end when all of Dipper’s flames stopped abruptly.

“I think that’s quite enough fighting for now! You two are going to end up killing each other, and I like one of you. The other… Well, I guess we’ll wait and see how I feel about  _ you. _ ”

Dipper had fallen back, landing on his ass and groaning at the pain of it, only to be pulled up by another pain in the ass. Bill.

“Fuck,” Justin breathed as he scrambled to his feet. “You’re not supposed to be here, Cipher.”

Bill shook his head, pulling Dipper into a tight, possessive hug. “Wow, such language from an angel. They let that kind of  _ fowl _ language go on up there?” He laughed, the sound unsettling but slightly infectious. “Get it? Fowl? You have wings.” With a taunting point to the light coming from Justin’s back, Bill laughed again. “Anyway, I’ll be taking my husband now. Filly? You alright over there?”

“Just dandy,  _ boss _ ” Filly’s annoyed voice called out from over by the tree she had been thrown into.

“Fantastic!” Bill loosened his hold on Dipper, moving to grab his hand instead. “I think this is over. You and I will have another chit chat mono a mono later, alright?” He snapped his fingers, blue flames swallowing Justin up as the other protested and tried to move away, only to disappear into them.

“What the Hell did you just do to him?” Dipper asked, only slightly worried. Justin had been a nice coworker once, after all.

Bill gave a lazy shrug, shaking out his free hand and curling his fingers, looking as if he were trying on a pair of gloves rather than just getting used to a body again. “He’ll be fine. Until then, I think it’s about time that I make a comeback. I have a pretty good feeling that everyone missed me.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Fun fact, because I wrote this so late at night it was all I thought about when I got up for work and I accidentally called my coworker Justin. His name is not Justin. He was very confused. So was I.
> 
> Anyway, this story is wrapping up and, unfortunately, there will be no third part of this series. I just like, lost my lust for it and honestly don't want to just force and flesh out a third one. But I hope you've enjoyed this series and I can't wait to share the end with you all!
> 
> Comments and kudos always help motivate me, so be sure to leave that shizz below if you're wanting to motivate me with your thoughts and feelings on this story. Love y'all, have a good day/night I'm gonna go eat some pasta now because ordering food is easier than making it lol byyyee

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks so much for reading! Comments and kudos are greatly appreciated! They're what keep me going :p


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